Two Sides to a Coin
by Codyknight22
Summary: Ruby Rose is not the sweet girl that you may know. Her past was dominated by one incident, and now it rules her future. To help her in concealing this, she now wears a half mask and gloves. But will going to Beacon ruin her cover? And will she be able to control both sides of her coin. Rated M for darkness and gore. AU.
1. Different Starts

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 1: Different Starts

**A new story by me? Whaaaa? So this will be canon inspired initially, except there will be a lot of different things in it. This story will hit dark places, and if you do not want to read gore and darkness then you might want to stop reading. Though, I'm unsure right now as to the extent that the gore will be. Otherwise, let us begin.**

She stood in the midst of the woods. Her scythe rested by her side, but she didn't need to know that. Hefting it around was not an issue for her, especially since she had done it for most of her life.

The age was difficult to tell on sight. On the right side of her face, she wore a young and innocent face. On the left side rested a half mask that alternated shades of dark red and black. It was fully covered, all the way to her mouth and eye. The right side displayed a single silver eye, but the left was just a mask of black and red over the gateway to the soul.

She wore a combat skirt as it allowed for maximum movement. Just below the skirt rested a long pair of tights that alternated shades of red and black as well. The girl had argued that they allowed for more coverage and something harder to see through. It certainly helped that they were lined with thin layers of leather, just to make breaking through them harder.

Her arms were perhaps the most interesting part of her attire. She wore a long pair of sleeves that went all the way up to her wrists, but that's not where the coverage ended. Her hands were completely concealed by a pair of gloves, one red and one black. Both of them had fur lining the wrists of them, the red glove having the black fur and the black glove having the red fur. If she were to roll up her sleeves, it would reveal that the gloves went much further down. All the way down to her shoulders, actually. They worked more like sleeves. They were both covered in thick pieces of leather, showing something off. She had something to hide, that much was apparent. But what it was, that remained to be seen.

Her hair was the only piece of her that seemed untouched. It was black with red highlights, and the only part that was semi-abnormal was the pieces sticking up from the top of the mask {as it ran the entire length of her left face}.

She twitched her ears in anticipation of the growls that she could hear from just beyond the trees. It sounded like a pack, a small one disappointingly. But it would do to kill that need within her.

_You should think of this as training, _she thought to herself.

_Training for what? _Another thought said. _Training for something that you know how to do. Kill. All this is is a little bit of steam that needs to be blown off._

_Don't give into the hunger, _the other voice fought back.

_I just require one, _the voice said. _I don't need much. Just a little to remind you that you still have to satisfy me. _The girl shook her head, and raised up her scythe. She pointed it straight into the air, and fired off one round. The place grew quiet, but that silence would soon be replaced by chaos.

A large, black wolf dove from the trees and took a swipe at the girl. She easily rolled under the strike, and dove up to be standing on the soles of her boots. She trained her gaze onto the wolf, and flashed a grin. It was covered in black fur, with the occasional bone spike appearing from it's body. It was a Beowolf, and there was no more perfect of a prey.

She swung around her scythe blade, and fired off a round to propel her momentum. The blade left a gash across the Grimm's stomach, and then the girl swung the blade up into it's chin. The head was cleaved in half, and the body fell limply to the side. Instinctively, the girl fired off a round at the ground and shot herself into the air. She looked down, and saw that two Beowolves had rushed to where she was.

She chambered in the next round, and fired it off. She spiraled down, and crushed the first Beowolves skull with the back of the blade. She fired off another round, and sent her body into the Beowolf. It stumbled back while the girl recentered herself, and swung around her boot into it's head. It stumbled back further, and the girl twirled around her blade into it's neck. The Beowolf fell over dead, and she landed safely.

She turned rapidly, and noticed that one more Beowolf was rushing her. She fired off a round, and brought the blade around to it's legs. Both of them were cut off, and the girl walked over to the Beowolf. The wounds weren't enough to kill, but they were enough to make it helpless. It snapped aimlessly at her, and she just placed her boot firmly on it's chest.

She calmly reached up to her mask, and took it off. The Beowolf went silent for a moment, but the silence was drawn out even more as she removed her gloves.

_Let me get this one, _a voice said calmly. She tucked away her scythe, and calmly placed her hand on it's throat. Suddenly, her grip tightened, and she ripped hard. The Beowolves throat left with her hand, and it called out for a single moment in pain. She just placed her mask back on her face, and wiped off her hands before putting the gloves back on. She took one look around the place, and nodded in approval. No one had seen her, which meant that she was still safe.

_Qrow's Home_

A man was sitting out on his porch. He was looking out into the distance, and his eyes seemed distant. He wore a black coat and his hair was silver. He had purple eyes, and his face looked sad. Underneath his black coat was a green shirt, which glowed oddly in the lighting. His name was Qrow, and he was concerned.

He had watched as his niece ran off into the woods, and he just patiently waited. Every time she went out, she was in danger of being spotted. It was never easy for him to let her, but he also understood what would happen if he didn't allow her to go.

He saw a brief flash of gold, and he turned his head slightly.

"Hello Yang," he greeted.

"Hey Dad," she replied. A girl with a wild gold mane took a seat next to him. She had dawned on a leather jacket to accompany her crop top and shorts. She had on a scarf along with two bikers boots, but both of those were accompanied by socks of varying height. Her wrists had on two bracers of some kind, and they both looked a lot more intricate then what one may initially assume.

"How was your time out?" He pressed.

"Fine," Yang replied. "Dad, did you get her in?" Qrow nodded very slowly, and the sat up a little more.

"It took some convincing," he added in. "But luckily, I have a past with Ozpin. I was able to show him her talent, and he agreed. Though convincing him to not ask questions about her aesthetic was difficult. But she's in."

"Good," Yang said. "I can't let her go through school without me." Qrow nodded, and looked back at the door.

"Your airship leaves soon," he said slowly. "You should get your supplies together. I've already taken care of Ruby's bag." Yang nodded, her eyes changing to concern at the mention of her sisters name. Yang ran back inside, and Qrow kept his gaze trained forward. Ruby's past certainly followed her, so it was best to send her with someone from her past. Yang was the only one with the ability to watch out for her, and it wasn't as though Ruby had a ton of friends. This would work well enough. But at Beacon, anything could happen.

_Airship_

Yang looked around the airship, and kept one hand on her younger cousin. Well, they were technically cousins. But Yang had been looking out for Ruby for so long, that she just considered her Ruby's older sister. Ruby thought similar of Yang, as it made their relationship easier to explain.

"Let go," Ruby whined, shrugging off Yang's grip.

"I'm just making sure you don't go running anywhere," Yang said.

"Why would I run off somewhere?" Ruby challenged. Yang paused, and shrugged. Ruby walked over to a window, and looked out of it. She could see her reflection, and she just sighed. The mask was a constant reminder of what she couldn't let show. At least she could play off her gloves as something to aid in her scythe wielding, but the mask was not anything conventional.

"What a view, huh?" Yang asked, nudging her sister slightly. Ruby finally let her gaze widen out of the reflection, and she smiled at the view. It covered the entire city, and it looked absolutely beautiful.

"It really is," Ruby said happily. "Sure beats that old house at the woods." Yang nodded, and just stretched out. "You and Qrow got me into Beacon two years early, didn't you?" Ruby asked as she leaned on the rails.

"Yup," Yang replied.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Because you're my baby sister, and I'm concerned. Plus, we merely asked Professor Ozpin to consider letting you in two years early. Ultimately, it was you who got in." Ruby went silent, but then hugged Yang.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Anything for you," Yang replied, hugging her back. Both girls heard gagging, and they turned to see a blonde boy trying to hold down his breakfast.

"Gross," Ruby said jokingly, holding her hand up to pinch her nose. Yang smiled, and tilted her head back and forth.

"Eh, he won't last," she added in, equal amounts of jokingness in her voice. Both girls continued to laugh for the rest of trip, and for a moment they forgot where it was that they were headed.

_Beacon Landing Zone_

The airship slowly touched down, and the girls both stepped out. They managed to get out in front of the boy who had almost vomited, which made some things easier. They got out to a clearing, and they looked around.

"And I thought the view from the ship was impressive," Yang mumbled.

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "This place is gorgeous." Indeed it was. The way that the school had planted the trees perfectly framed the school, that resembled more of a castle, and it enhanced all of the greens within the building design. Yang's view trailed away, and she seemed to notice someone.

"Oh I thought they didn't get in," Yang mumbled. "Hey Ruby, is it cool if I run over and say hi real fast?"

"I'll be fine for two seconds," Ruby replied. "I can handle myself."

"That's not-. Never mind." Yang just shook her head, and ran over to someone in the distance. Ruby watched Yang go, and turned to walk somewhere else.

As soon as she took a step forward, she felt herself bump into something. She snapped her head fully around, and saw a tower of cases toppling over. Instantly, she reached out and saved them. Giving a sigh of relief, Ruby leaned them upright.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She heard someone yell. Ruby jumped slightly, and turned to face the mystery yeller. She saw a short girl, almost her height with stupidly high heels, with white hair. Her eyes were blue, and a single scar rested above her left eye.

"What?" Ruby asked innocently. The girl puffed out angrily, and got close to Ruby. Her face was within inches of Ruby's mask, which made her immensely uncomfortable.

"You had your hands on _my _Dust crates," she accused her.

"Yeah," Ruby said. "I accidentally bumped into them, and so I had to stop it from falling over."

"So you're unobservant and a thief," the girl said easily.

"Hey!" Ruby snapped, her voice going an octave lower. "It was an accident, and I wasn't stealing shit, _princess._" Ruby's voice had changed so rapidly to add in so much hostility that the girl was actually stunned for a moment.

"It's heiress actually," someone said from behind Ruby. For a moment, she hoped that it would be Yang. But no such luck, it was someone that she was unfamiliar with. She had long black hair, a blouse, and a black bow on top of her head. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

"Finally, some recognition," Weiss said happily.

"The same company infamous for it's controversial labor laws, and questionable work forces." The heiress looked stunned for a moment, and then she bounced back.

"How dare you!" She snapped. Ruby had already brought out the anger in her, but this girl had pushed it too far. As if she was a guardian angel, Yang came running up to the scene.

"Hey," Yang said, stepping between the girl in black, Ruby and Weiss. "So I heard a little bit of yelling, and I came over here to make sure that you weren't going to try anything."

"She accused my company of our labor laws and business partners and she tried to steal from me," Weiss said angrily.

"Okay, timeout there princess. First off, my sister wouldn't steal anything. She's sweet, right Ruby?" Ruby just growled angrily, and kept her unconcealed eye straight at the heiress. "Second of all, feel free to take potshots at her." Yang threw her thumb back at the girl in black, who just gave a surprise look at Yang. "I don't know her. But my sister, well I don't recommend you make her mad." Weiss threw her arms up, and she looked just about ready to hit Ruby.

"Breaking you in half would be easy," Ruby said hostily. Her voice had dropped deeper then most of the boys at the school. "I'm plenty strong enough." Weiss stopped in surprise. This girl that had been apologizing awkwardly had completely changed right in front of her. Something about her change in posture and stare made her seem serious.

"Okay, I'm leaving," Weiss said. The other girl had already left, and Weiss wasn't slow to follow. Yang looked over at Ruby, and raised her eyebrow. Almost instantly, all of the anger left her.

"I bumped into her cases," Ruby said easily as she started to make her way towards Beacon Assembly Hall. "They almost fell over, and then I propped them back up. She said I was trying to steal them."

"Already making friends, huh?" Yang asked.

"I only operate hot or cold," Ruby said easily. "There is no in between. This," Ruby tapped on her mask, "sees to that." Yang just sighed, and pulled her sister in close.

"Let's just avoid incidents for the rest of today," Yang said. "Okay?" Ruby nodded, but there was one thing that she knew as going to be determining the amount of incidents. How much people tested her, what was said at orientation, and the sleeping situation.

And the last one was very important.

**End: Longer chapter one then I normally do. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	2. Remaining Covered

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 2: Remaining Covered

**I have been asked if there will be shipping. That's not something I'm going to answer as that'd obviously be a spoiler, but I thought I'd tease you with the prospect of this. This will be the final chapter with a daily update, so otherwise it will fall into the normal rotation that I have, taking over A Harsh Reality's spot {This, What Good is Love, and then Broken Apart}. Thank you to everyone for getting me to 10 followers and 10 favorites initially. So let us resume this story, as I am probably more excited about this story then I have for anything else.**

Ruby walked into the assembly hall, just behind Yang and both girls found their way into a spot in the crowd. It was in the middle of everyone, but nothing they didn't think that was possible to blend in with. Some of the things that people wore for "armor" or "style" were absolutely absurd. Fur, full sleeved gloves and a mask wouldn't seem too absurd.

"Ahem," someone said cautiously. Ruby and Yang turned around, and saw the blonde boy that had vomited on the ship standing just behind them. "Can I stay over here?" He asked hesitantly.

"I don't see why not," Yang said easily. Both her and Ruby turned around, and looked back up at the stage.

"I'm Jaune," the boy said. "What about you?"

"Ruby," Ruby replied.

"Yang," the blonde contributed. The three of them remained in awkward silence, until Jaune spoke up again.

"So Ruby, you have a mask," he stated.

"Mhm," Ruby replied happily.

"May I ask why?"

"Jeez, you're formal," Ruby added in. "Aesthetic."

"Can I see you without it?"

"And I was badly burned," she tossed in. Jaune went dead silent, and Ruby just glared at him with her visible eye. It was clear that she meant, _drop it. _Not dropping it would end poorly for Jaune.

Ruby wasn't actually burned. But saying that she had bad burns on the left side of her face encouraged most people to believe that she didn't want to reveal what her face looked like. But her face, while she'd rather leave it covered, was so much worse then that. It revealed something that she was ashamed of, and so she left it covered.

"Are you cold?" Jaune asked.

"Back off creep," Yang snapped.

"I meant your-." He stopped, and realized that he had no idea what the two girls relationship was. Close friends? Sisters? Lovers? He was really hoping for one of the first two.

"Sister," Yang said. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"I meant your sister," he said. "She has on all this leather, plus those gloves, and a mask, and a cloak. So are you cold or something?"

"Nope," Ruby replied as she folded her arms. "You're asking an awful lot of questions right now, Jaune."

"I just wanna learn about you a bit," he added in. "Here, ask me anything. I'm an open book."

"And I'm not a big reader," Yang contributed. Jaune went silent as he realized that perhaps these girls weren't to be trifled with. The three of them stood in silence, and waited on Ozpin to begin his speech.

He took to the mic, and cleared his throat. Ruby chose to tune out his speech, deeming that she had better things to do then listen to a generic speech welcoming them into Beacon. But the ending caught her attention, and that was when his right hand woman took to the mic. Ruby believed her name was Glynda Goodwitch.

"Students will gather in the main ballroom tonight," she said. Ruby tuned out everything after that, and her eyes widened in horror. All of the students in one place. At the very least, maybe she would get a private changing spot.

"Yang," Ruby whispered.

"I heard her," Yang replied. "Stay close, deck anyone who tries to take your mask or fuck with you as a general rule, clear?"

"Clear," Ruby replied.

"Uhm," Jaune said awkwardly. "So uh, do I come with-?"

"Find someone else vomit boy," Yang said, giving a strong shove in Jaune's chest. He just stood there, and watched as the sisters walked off. He had no idea of exactly who these girls were, but one thing was certain to him. They were probably some of the best possible people to befriend.

_Later on that night: Ballroom_

Luckily for Ruby and Yang, there was an individual changing room. Ruby had taken a small bundle of pajamas in their, and taken a seat. She looked at herself in the mirror, and sighed. Ruby gingerly removed the mask, and looked at herself.

_Ignore it, _part of her said. _It's ugly, but it's also kept you alive more then once._

_And all I ask is some tributes, _the other part of her said. _Such as that throat you took from the Beowolf. But that's only fitting, as they did the same with your mother._

"Stop," Ruby said in a low voice. But the drop in her voice meant that the violent side of her was trying to take over.

"Ruby?" She heard a tentative voice ask. "Are you okay?"

"Fine Yang," Ruby replied, her voice returning for it's normal pitch. Somehow, Yang had that affect on her. For this, Ruby was grateful. She set her mask aside, and took off her gloves. She slowly pulled off the buttons from her combat skirt, and stripped down. She put on a short sleeved shirt, and pulled her gloves over her exposed arms.

Her arms held just as much truth to them as her face did. The gloves were something that she had selected out of necessity, not for a fashion sense.

After she had clothed her upper half, she set about taking off her leggings and boots. These were easy, especially since Ruby had no concerns about anyone seeing anything there. So long as her face and arms were concealed, there was nothing she was afraid of. Hell, steal a glance between her thighs or at her chest, she would make you pay sooner rather then later.

Ruby dawned her mask and stepped out of the dressing room and looked around. She saw Yang standing not too far off, a bundle of pajamas in her arms. Yang instantly spotted her younger sister, and smiled.

"Hey Rubes," Yang said. "Either go over to our spot or stay here. But whatever you do, don't-."

"Don't start anything," Ruby finished.

"Good girl," Yang replied. She closed the door, and Ruby instantly made the decision to move over to her and Yang's sleeping area.

Ruby sat down in her sleeping bag, and readjusted her mask a little bit to make sure that it was even. She calmly leaned back, and smiled to herself. She noticed someone nearby, and realized they looked familiar. It took Ruby a moment, but she realized that it was the girl in black from earlier. _You don't even know her name, _she thought to herself. _I should get that much._

_Wait for your sister, _the second voice told her. _She would be furious if you were to lose control of me. _Ruby sighed, and leaned back in her bed. Luckily, Ruby didn't have to wait long.

"It's like a biiiiiiiig slumber party," Yang said as she dove into her sleeping bag.

"Oh, that's what this feeling is," Ruby joked.

"Hey, look on the bright side. You're all gloved out and you've got on your mask. If anything, you're probably the last noticeable one." Ruby gave her sister an unamused look, and then both girls cracked a wide smile. Ruby broke the stare with her sister, and brought her attention to the girl in black. Yang followed along, and sighed.

"You want to introduce yourself to her?" Yang asked. Ruby nodded, and Yang stood up. "Come on then. This is how you introduce yourself." Ruby was actually very good at introducing herself to people. But having Yang there ensured that she wouldn't lose control of herself. If she did, well everyone was going to have a bad time.

Yang and Ruby strolled over to where the girl in black was seated, and noticed that she had a book in her hands and a candle lit at her side. Yang gestured for Ruby to stop moving, and the younger girl complied. Both of them stood there, and waited for the other girl to acknowledge their presence.

"Ahem," Yang finally said. The girl in black sighed, and looked up. Her eyes went from annoyed to surprised in an instant once she noticed the mask that Ruby was wearing.

"You're the girl from earlier," she observed. "The one that gave out those threats."

"That's me," Ruby said cheerfully. It was much easier to make light of what her other side had said whenever she was in her current mood. "My name's Ruby. This is my older sister, Yang."

"Howdie," Yang contributed. The girl in black looked from girl to girl, seemingly making a decision about whether or not to trust them.

"Blake," she finally said. Before either Ruby or Yang could follow up, Blake pressed something. "Why do you wear the mask at night?" Ruby paused for a moment, temporarily caught off guard.

"It keeps her skin moist," Yang joked. The girl in Blake gave one of the most unimpressed and unamused looks that a person could give, and looked over to Ruby.

"Burns," Ruby replied. "Really bad accident, and now I'm almost never without my mask." Blake nodded, but her eyes still seemed suspicious.

"Gloves?" She asked.

"My hands get really cold, and so do my arms," Ruby replied. "Plus, I have burns there too." Blake nodded, and continued to stare at Ruby.

"You look young," Blake observed. "Too young to be here."

"I feel like you're interrogating my baby sister," Yang added in, stepping in between Blake and Ruby.

"I'm just curious," Blake contributed.

"Well I am," Ruby replied. "I was moved ahead a few years to get in here." Blake just nodded, and Ruby took a closer look at her. There was something about this girl that seemed familiar. Her hair, eyes, look, smell, something. It was strange to Ruby, but she couldn't acknowledge it. Ruby was positive that she had never met Blake before, and to acknowledge familiarity might lead to a path that she didn't want to take.

_You're making the good choice, _part of her said.

_So what if she learns? _The other piece said. _That just means we have to kill her. Do you really have a guilty conscious about this?_

"Stop," Ruby muttered.

"Pardon?" Blake asked. Yang saw the conflicting look on Ruby's face, and she quickly wrapped her arm around Ruby.

"Well then Blake," Yang said, already starting to pull Ruby away. "It was nice to meet you, but it's getting late." Blake nodded, not at all buying what Yang was trying to sell.

"Night," Blake said, waving at the girls. Yang pulled Ruby towards their area, and kept a firm grasp on her.

"Calm down," Yang said softly. "It's there, you can't deny that. But don't feel it. Don't let it win. Deep breaths." Ruby started to breathe deep, and felt herself calming down. Yang kept a hold on her, and just kept close watch over Ruby's eye. It had remained silver, which was a good thing. That meant that it hadn't gotten that bad. But it was always best to be safe, because if things got out then there was no telling what may happen.

"Better," Ruby said as she lifted Yang's arm off of her. "Something about that girl seemed familiar."

"In what way?" Yang asked.

"I'm not sure. I couldn't ask her though." Yang nodded, understanding that the conversation could easily stray down the wrong path. Yang laid down in her sleeping bag, and Ruby did the same.

"I think that's enough excitement for today," Yang joked. "Night Ruby." Yang leaned over, and kissed Ruby's exposed forehead and tucked the younger girl in. Ruby watched as Yang fell asleep, and then leaned back. She closed her eyes, and let sleep consume her.

_Later on that night_

Ruby was sleeping softly. She had nightmares almost every night, but they no longer frightened her. If you were to check her eye while it was closed, it would reveal that it was devoid of the silver that normally signaled that she was doing good. The color was different, and that meant that she was in a mode in which feeling fear wasn't an option. Most nights, she simply slept through them.

Yang was also sleeping peacefully next to Ruby. While she was worried about her sister, and admittedly much more protective then she would have been without Ruby's misfortunes, sleeping was never an issue. Ruby didn't get troubled by her nightmares, and if she did she would always wake Yang. It was hard while she was awake, but while she was asleep Yang was as least worried about Ruby as she ever would be.

There was one person who wasn't sleeping peacefully. They were carefully navigating the mine field of sleeping bags to try and get towards the center. They reached their goal, and stared down at the sleeping girl. A mask was only worn this frequently to conceal something, and that wasn't something that they were going to let happen.

Very slowly, they reached down and started to lift the mask off. The bottom piece of the chin got a little bit of separation, but then Ruby's eyes shot open. She stood up with blinding speed, and grabbed the stranger by the throat. They choked out a weak cry, but it was nowhere near enough to wake anyone else up. Ruby stared at them, and realized that she knew precisely who it was. Ruby eased up on the pressure a little bit, but kept her gaze firmly on the person in front of her.

"Don't ever try that," Ruby growled, her voice dropping to the bassy tone that was used when she was in an angry state.

"Clear," the girl choked out.

"I would kill you now," Ruby continued. "But it'd be messy to kill the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company right now." Weiss nodded as much as she could, and Ruby dropped her. "Now go." Weiss took off, caring less as to whether or not someone woke up.

Ruby pressed down on her mask a little bit more, and made sure that it was secure. Weiss came a little closer then Ruby would have liked. Luckily for her, Ruby was very sensitive around her mask, and Weiss had woken her up. Even more fortunately for her, the sudden shock of waking up turned her eye back to silver. All that was left for Ruby was the next day where initiation would begin in the Emerald Forest, and that meant a certain level of comfort for Ruby. She would be back to killing.

_The Next Morning: Beacon Locker room_

Ruby and Yang both entered the locker room, Yang listening intently to Ruby's story.

"Then I let her go," Ruby finished. "After that, I went back to sleep."

"You did nothing?" Yang asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Yup. It was easy to rationalize with it at that moment since the room was crowded, and I'm sure she would have made some kind of a noise." Yang nodded, and just sighed.

"Just, try to avoid killing anyone, okay?" Yang asked.

"Yup, way ahead of you." Ruby popped open her locker, and pulled out her scythe. She tucked it behind her back, and then looked around briefly, and noticed that no one was around her {apart from Yang}. She removed her mask, and scratched her face briefly. She put it back on, and then removed one of her gloves to let her arm breathe a little bit. She put it back on, and then gave her other arm a similar treatment.

"What are you doing?" Yang hissed.

"Letting them breathe," Ruby replied easily. "It gets hot. I don't know why I got that stupid fur on them."

"What if-?" Yang started angrily.

"No one was around me besides you," Ruby replied. "Yang, I'm not dumb." Yang sighed again, and shook her head.

"You are not easy," Yang said, rubbing her sisters hair. "You know that?"

"Yup," Ruby replied as she emerged from her locker. "I don't try to be though."

"Will all first year students please report to Beacon Cliffs," a voice said through one of the speakers.

"That's our cue," Ruby said. She started to walk away, but Yang grabbed her arm.

"Normally they don't tell you," Yang said. "But I asked my dad how this worked. He said that pairs were decided by eye contact after landing in the forest, and that teams were decided by the same relics. I'm not scared about winding up on the same team or if you'll live. I'm sure that both of those things will happen. But I am worried that you won't find me in time to pair up. When we land, the first thing I want you to do is try and find me."

"Okay Yang," Ruby said with exasperation. "I can find you. It may take me a while, and try not to get paired up in the meantime."

"You do the same, okay?" Ruby nodded, and Yang smiled at her. Both of them made their way towards Beacon Cliffs, and Yang pulled Ruby in with one arm. "I love you Rubes."

"I love you too Yang," Ruby replied. "I promise, I won't kill anyone."

"I'll do the same," Yang replied jokingly. Both sisters let out a laugh, but they knew the chances of Ruby going into a frenzy if they didn't find each other soon was very good.

**End: Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is always appreciated.**


	3. Emerald Forest

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 3: Emerald Forest

**Remember that whole, "last daily update," thing? Well I lied. Way too excited about this story moving forward right now, hoping that I may let it fall into the rotation. Thank you to everyone for getting this story to 20 followers and 20 favorites. Very evenly paced right now. Anyways, let's get going again.**

The two sisters took to one of the many launch pads presented to them. Yang had picked two in the more unpopulated areas, and set herself up. Ruby kept her eyes out for anyone that she might recognized, but was grateful that most of them were setting up futher down from them. Ruby was actually convinced that some of them were doing it on purpose.

"Find me when you can," Yang whispered to her younger sister.

"Done," Ruby replied. "I won't kill people until then."

"Let's go with not killing people period," Yang suggested.

"I mean, if you want to be boring about it," Ruby said jokingly. Yang nudged Ruby, and then the headmaster began to explain the rules for the forest. Ruby completely tuned him out, and took a kneeling position on the launch pad.

Her hands touched either end of the platform, and instantly she felt more at ease. The strength that Ruby possessed within her arms was incredible. The idea that they were on something that was about to launch her off was comforting, even though she tried to hide them as much as possible.

_The comfort is natural for strength, _Ruby thought.

_But even more so for what you can do with that strength, _another part of her thought. She shook the voice from her mind, and then looked straight ahead. She couldn't think like that. Well, not yet anyways.

Her pad triggered, and the girl with the red and black mask was sent into the air.

Ruby felt the wind blowing across her, and she triggered her scythe. It would have been very easy for Ruby to just grab hold of a tree and land easily on the ground. But that would raise too many questions. So Ruby flipped around her scythe blade, and fired off as many rounds as she could. She felt her momentum slow, and Ruby hooked her blade around a tree branch.

Ruby flipped herself to the ground, and brought her gaze even. Just hearing the sounds of gunfire got her blood going. And when her blood got going, that meant her voices started to work. Her desire to see blood increased, and that meant that things had a chance of being bad if the first thing she found wasn't a Grimm.

_Get it together Ruby, _she thought. _Find Yang, and get through this._

"YAAAAAAAAANG!" Ruby yelled out. "YAAAAAAAAAANG!"

_Try and find your sister, _the second voice added in. _Even if you succeed, I'm in control when we find a Grimm. But don't worry, I'll let any humans live. Too conspicious for now. But if the thirst grows too much..._

"STOP!" Ruby yelled out. She came skidding to a halt, and put her hands up to her head.

"Hello?" A tentative voice asked. "If you're having problems and don't have a partner, I suggest you stay hidden."

_Get her, _a voice said in her head.

"Stop talking," Ruby growled.

"Um," the voice continued.

"Not you," Ruby pressed. "It's-. It's nothing."

"I'm going to leave," the voice added in.

"No, you won't." Ruby stood up, and looked around the clearing she wound up in. Ruby walked towards the direction in which the voice was coming from, and she reached out her hand. Ruby heard a brief gasp of surprise, and then she spun around whomever she had grabbed. Ruby realized that Weiss Schnee was the one whom had seen so strange around the perimeter.

"Oh no," Ruby muttered.

"YOU!" Weiss yelled out. Her voice lacked a tone of authority and held more of a tone of fear and surprise.

"Don't yell," Ruby said, pushing Weiss away. "But stay close."

"No," Weiss said. "I am not going to be partners with you."

"No choice, princess," Ruby replied. She noticed that her voice had dropped a little, but not to the point where it was clear that the other voice was in control. "Besides, I'm not going to kill you. Don't touch my mask, and we'll be fine." Weiss sighed, and recognized that Ruby was going to drag her along no matter what. Weiss' first instinct wasn't relief that she had found a partner, it was dread about what this partnership would entail.

"Let's move," Ruby said, mindlessly activating Crescent Rose. "I need to get to the ruins so I can wait.'

"Wait?" Weiss asked.

"For my sister," Ruby replied simply.

"Are you out of your mind?" Weiss said angrily. "When we get out of the forest and into the ruins, my full intention is to get the relic and get out." Ruby stopped in her tracks, and turned around to face Weiss.

"If I say we wait, we wait," Ruby growled. Now her voice was clearly getting away from her. Weiss recognized the drop, and just sighed. "Now, we don't wait." Ruby picked up her scythe, and walked forward. Weiss started to walk behind her, but noticed something.

"Ruby," Weiss said cautiously.

"What?" Ruby snapped. She turned around to face Weiss, and instantly could tell that her eye had changed color somewhat. Ruby raised up a hand over it, and used her other eye to focus on Weiss. Luckily for Ruby, Weiss was facing the bushes. Ruby lowered her hand, and focused in. She could see the eyes floating around them, and all she did was smile. It was a rare time in which all of the voices wanted the same thing, and it was a rare time in which her voice allowed the other to take over.

_Just an appetizer to hold us over, _the main voice said. _Inflict pain, and I will be satisfied. _Ruby looked over at Weiss, and the heiress let out a small gasp of surprise.

"Then let's do this," Ruby said. "And do your best to avoid getting in my way." Ruby's voice had completely dropped now. It had hit it's base, and that meant that Ruby was ready to go. The other thing that indicated it was her eye. It had gone from silver to red and black, a clear sign that she was ready to kill.

_Yang_

The blonde walked through the woods in a diagonal pattern. She had to work towards the ruins {which was easy enough since she knew where it was thanks to her father} but also try to find Ruby.

"Hellooooooo?" Yang yelled out. "Ruuuuuuuuuby? Come on, I need to find you." She heard a growl from the bushes, and had a brief moment of hope. Then she recognized that Ruby wouldn't growl at her, and then sighed. "Alright, let's get this shit over with." Yang went into a boxers stance, and activated Ember Celica.

Almost as if it recognized that silently stalking would no longer be an option, an Ursa jumped out of the bushes. It took a healthy swipe at Yang, but the blonde easily avoided the attack.

"Come on big guy," Yang taunted. "I don't have all day." A second Ursa dove from the bushes, and took a swing at Yang's back. The blonde lunged forward, and fired off a round at the Ursa's chest. The round hit, and the Ursa was sent back. Yang turned around and faced the other Ursa, and smiled. "Let's dance big boy." The Ursa lunged forward, and Yang flipped back.

The Ursa took a wild swipe at her, and Yang felt confident that nothing had hit her. But just as she landed the flip, a single strand of hair floated down. Yang's face went to horror, and then anger. Ruby's mean streak might not be one to get through blood, but Yang could turn up her temper in an instant. And one of the keys to doing so, was touch her hair.

"You messed up," Yang growled. She bolted off right at the Ursa, and swung her fist at it's jaw. After making contact, Yang strung together a series of blows to knock the Ursa into the air. With one final punch, Yang sent the Ursa sailing and crashing through some trees. Yang turned around, and saw the second Ursa come to a stop right behind her. Yang wanted to finish it off, but at the same time she was wasting time. Ruby was out there, and the more time she spent fighting the more of a danger Ruby became to others.

"I don't have time for this," Yang said angrily. "Move!" Without another word, something dropped down onto the Ursa's back. Yang heard the sound of metal breaking through thick flesh and fur. The Ursa dropped dead, and left a single girl standing behind it. Yang's eyes identified her as Blake, the woman that Ruby and her had met the prior day.

"Dammit," Yang muttered. She looked around again, and recognized that there was no one else. "No partner?"

"Now I have one," Blake replied. Yang sighed, and started to walk forward. "What, that's it?"

"Yes," Yang said. "I have to get to the ruins so that I can catch my sister."

"Your sister?" Blake asked. "The one in the mask?" Yang just nodded in confirmation. "Why do you need to catch her?"

"Remember those threats that Ruby gave Weiss?" Yang asked. Blake nodded, and Yang sighed. "Well, she can do all of that, and a lot more. Even worse, she can get out of control and not be able to stop herself unless someone can calm her down. There were exactly three people that could do that, and I'm one of them."

"Has that ever happened?" Blake asked, now intrigued by Ruby. Yang just sighed, and looked back at Blake.

"Let's just hope that it doesn't now," Yang said.

_Ruby and Weiss_

The two girls stood back to back, surrounded completely by Beowolves. Weiss had her sword drawn, but she hesitated to make a move. Normally, Weiss wouldn't have hesitated to make a move in combat. But this girl... She had some kind of a presence to her that made Weiss believe that hanging back was a good idea.

Ruby had no such concern. Her eye had changed to match the color of the other. The red and black floated around each other perfectly, making it seem just demonic enough. Her other eye {if it was exposed} would have looked the same. Ruby was just waiting for her moments to dive forward, and attack the Beowolves.

One of them made the choice to attack her, and it was instantly met with a bullet from Crescent Rose.

_Too fast, _the voice from within her said. _Make it more personal._

"Galdly," Ruby growled. Weiss glanced back at Ruby, but completely ignored her. She had been saying things outloud for quite some time. Never talking to her, always talking to herself.

"I'll attack the Beowolves here," Weiss said. "I suggset that-."

"Quiet princess," Ruby snapped. "You'll get those Beowolves, start from the one directly in front of you. You'll get up to six with the way you fight. The others are mine, and make sure you don't kill the last one." Weiss nodded, not wanting to question what Ruby was telling her.

Weiss charged forward, and as soon as Ruby felt the heiress' presence leave her back, she followed suit. Ruby ran out at a Beowolf, and watched as it made a leaping attack straight at her. She ducked out of the way, and brought the bladed part of Crescent Rose right across it's stomach. The Beowolf let out a howl as it's stomach contents no longer had a way to be held in. Ruby instantly fired off a course correction shot, and took off another Beowolf's head with the first shot. Ruby flipped back, and brought around the blunt end of her weapon into it's back.

Ruby felt it's spine snap, and she left it lying on the ground.

_Leave it alive for now, _the voice said. _If nothing else survives, it'll make for a nice present at the end._

"Done," Ruby replied. The Beowolf pitifully tried to crawl away, but all it's limbs were stuggling to move. Ruby just flipped around her scythe blade, and cut into one of the Beowolves shoulders. She fired off a round and severed it straight down completely. Ruby flipped away the two pieces, and spun her blade in a circle to cut down more of the Beowolves. She looked over at Weiss, and saw that she had taken out more Beowolves then she had given her credit for.

_Perhaps we misjudged, _the voice said.

"We don't misjudge," Ruby replied. "These were just easy targets." Ruby heard a growl, and watched as a Beowolf leapt at her. She put away Crescent Rose, and smiled. _The last Beowolf, _both voices thought.

She ducked under it's pounce, and swung straight at it's stomach. The Beowolf paused for a moment, and Ruby took full advantage of that pause. She grabbed it's arm, and pulled it down to her level. She flipped onto it's back, and used her right hand to grab the top part of it's jaw and her left to grab the bottom part. She started to pull and push at the same time. The Beowolf began to howl out in pain, but it was no use. Everything else was dead, and Ruby was left alone with it. She heard an initial crunch, and then a final tear as the top part of the Beowolf's skull detatched from the top part.

Ruby watched as most of the Beowolf's corpse fell to the ground, and she stared triumphantly at her reward.

"What?" She heard Weiss say.

"I told you I could break you in half," Ruby said. She let out a cruel laugh, and threw the skull piece aside. Weiss looked over at the Beowolf that was trying futily to crawl away.

"What about that?" Weiss asked, doing everything within her power not to cough up the breakfast she had had earlier.

"Kill it," Ruby said. "Do it fast or do it slow, I don't care. I got what I came for." Weiss nodded, and swiftfully put her sword through it's throat. After what she had just witnessed, Weiss felt as though a mercy kill would be the best thing she could do.

Ruby walked forward, and glanced in the direction she knew the ruins were. She looked over again, and saw a feather slowly fall to the ground. But Ruby recognized that the feather wasn't one from a bird.

"Weiss," Ruby said, her voice returning to normal. Weiss felt her fear grow and then shrink as Ruby directly addressed her, but in her normal voice.

"Y-y-yes?" Weiss asked.

"Do you wanna do something crazy?"

_Ruins_

Yang and Blake cleared their way towards the ruins, and looked out at it.

"Is this it?" Yang asked. Blake flashed a look her way, and Yang just nodded. "Right, dumb questions. Come on, we have to pick out an artifact and then wait for Ruby."

"Why are you so keen on this?" Blake asked.

"I have to be on the same team as Ruby," Yang replied. "We've been over this." Blake just shrugged, and walked out into the ruins. Yang followed just behind, and the two girls began to select a ruin.

_Ruby and Weiss: A While Later_

"I HATE YOU!" Weiss yelled out. Ruby just flashed a huge smile back at Weiss. Ruby had managed to craft a way for both Ruby and Weiss to get onboard the giant bird Grimm, a Nevermore. "SINCE I HAVE MET YOU, YOU HAVE THREATENED ME, TRIED TO KILL ME, AND INFLICTED EMOTIONAL TRAUMA! NOW YOU'RE ENDANGERING BOTH OF OUR LIVES TO GET TO THE RUINS? DO YOU EVEN HAVE A PLAN TO GET DOWN?!"

"Yup," Ruby said calmly. Her voice echoed enough where Weiss could hear her, but low enough where she seemed in control. "As a matter of fact," Ruby said as she looked over the side of the Nevermore, and smiled to herself. She could see a group of people below her, and identified Yang as one of them.

_Have to get to Yang, _Ruby thought.

_But first we have to get down, _the other voice said. Ruby nodded, and looked back at Weiss.

"Stay here," Ruby said.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Weiss yelled out. Ruby started to crawl up the Nevermore, choosing to ignore Weiss. Ruby reached the top of the Nevermore, and grabbed onto it's feathers. She calmly pulled out Crescent Rose, and slowly aimed at it's neck.

"GOING DOWN!" Ruby yelled out.

"WHAT?!" Weiss yelled out. Ruby brought the blade of Crescent Rose right where the Nevermore's spine was, and the bird called out in pain. Normally, it would take multiple blows to cut through a Nervermore's tough layers. But Ruby's strength got her a single puncture wound instantly, and then now she was prepared to finish it. She raised up her hands, and pushed down no Crescent Rose.

The Nevermore gave out another caw of pain, and started to plummet. On the way down, Ruby kept hammering on the weapon. It drove further and further into the Nevermore, causing the Grimm to come closer and closer to death. Soon, the blade severed the head entirely, and the Nevermore fell straight down.

Ruby climbed down the descending corpse, and reached Weiss. The heiress looked petrified, and Ruby had to smile at her face. Weiss looked at Ruby, and almost tried to kill Ruby.

"WHY ARE YOU SMILING?!" Weiss shrieked.

"Because of this," Ruby said. She grabbed Weiss, and pushed both of them off of the Nevermore.

"RUUUUUBY!" Weiss screamed.

"GLYPH!" Ruby barked out. Weiss took a moment, but then placed a glyph beneath them, and both of the girls came to a stop just above the ground. Ruby jumped down, and Weiss let herself down after a moment. Yang, Blake, Jaune, and two others were staring at Ruby, confusion riddling their faces.

"Hi Yang," Ruby said casually. Yang shook her head, and walked over to Ruby.

"Hey Rubes," Yang replied. She wrapped Ruby in a hug, and leaned in close to her.

"Beowolves," Ruby said simply.

"White knight," Yang replied. Ruby nodded, and ran over to the ruins. Weiss glared at Yang, and Yang returned a confused look.

"Your sister is a lunatic!" Weiss complained. "She ripped a Beowolf's head off with her hands!"

"Eh," Yang said, shrugging. "Don't make her mad."

"That's your brilliant advice?" Weiss asked.

"It'll be easier with you and I on the same team," Yang said.

"Wait, what?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, nothing." Yang watched as Ruby came running back with a chesspiece, and she handed over a white knight to Weiss.

"Can you look after that?" Ruby asked.

"Why?" Weiss asked suspiciously.

"I don't have pockets," Ruby replied simply. Weiss just sighed, and took the piece. She was not looking forward to her future with Ruby, as her partner seemed to be bipolar.

"You," Yang said, pointing a finger at Jaune.

"What?" He asked.

"Where's your partner?" Yang asked.

"She's-." Jaune was cut off by Pyrrha's body being hurled towards them, and coming to a complete stop. "Right here. Hi Pyrrha." Pyrrha groaned, and rolled over. Everyone else looked over where she was hit, and saw a large Death Stalker hanging around. Weiss pulled out her sword, and readied it.

"Stop," Ruby said, a wicked grin on her face and her eyes returing to the red and black color. Her voice had dropped a little bit, but with every word it got deeper and deeper. "I've got this." Ruby took off in a sprint, and kept her weapon at bay. Weiss saw this, and leveled her sword to rush forward. A hand on her chest stopped her, and Weiss looked over at it's owner. Much to her surprise, it was the older sister of the girl who was apparently running to her death.

"What're you doing?" Weiss asked angrily.

"Don't," Yang said simply. "You've seen her fight, and you've seen her when she wants something. If you value your life, you'll stay behind."

"She'll die!" Weiss said angrily. "I don't want to be the one to lose their partner in initiation."

"She'll live," Yang snorted. "I'm more concerned about the Death Stalker."

Ruby kept up her sprint, and waited on the Death Stalker to make a move. It swung it's stinger around, and Ruby danced out of the way. What she didn't see was the claw that it followed up with, and it caught her right across the left side of her face, directly on the mask.

Ruby spiralled out, and rolled to her feet. She felt over the mask, and smiled. Not a scratch. It seemed as though making it out of the same material that Crescent Rose had been made out of was a smart idea. She stood her ground, and watched as the Death Stalker ran at her. It swung around it's stinger again, and Ruby jumped back. It followed up with a strike from it's claw, but this time Ruby was ready.

She grabbed ahold of it with one arm, and pulled out Crescent Rose with the other. She brought the blade into the exposed joint of the Grimm, and severed the limb. It called out in pain, but Ruby wasn't done. She swung around the weapon at it's stinger as well, once again catching it's expsoed part. She cut it away from the rest of the body, and gave the other pincer similar treatment.

The Death Stalker started to fall over from all of the damage it had received, and Ruby decided to end it. She calmly raised Crescent Rose, and plunged it into it's head. The Death Stalker called out one final time, and Ruby calmly put away the weapon. She blinked her eyes, and felt them return to the normal silver.

She walked back over to everyone else, and saw their looks of surprise.

"What?" Ruby asked. "We have the relics, the Grimm are dead, let's go." Ruby proceeded to walk away, and everyone but Yang was wondering as to how she had done that. Yang was only wondernig how much longer her secret would last.

**End: Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Views

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 4: Views

**First full chapter that'll be written solely on my new MacBookPro. Gah, so much nicer then the Chromebook... Anyways, first question about Ruby that I can answer. Ruby is indeed NOT Ryan from his Mad King moments, but that's an idea. Hm... But, thank you to everyone for getting me to 40 followers for this story! I will say this again, I am so amped for the future of this story so it means a lot that others are as well. Let's resume.**

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin said easily. "You four have retrieved the white knight pieces. Together, you will work together as team RWBY. Lead by, Ruby Rose." The audience went dead silent. It was the very end of initiation, and Ozpin had already announced all of the other teams. But now he was onto the one of rumors, RWBY. Ruby Rose had made quite an impression on everyone during initiation, and it was evident by the silence.

The girl simply took it in stride, her eye flickering between the bright silver to a much darker shade of red and black. It concerned Ozpin, but he just nodded to them.

"This year promises to be interesting," Ozpin announced. "All of you can retire to your dorms. Information as to what team has what dorm is located outside." All of the students left, and Ozpin retired to his office.

Luckily for him, his office wasn't too far away. There was some things that he needed to investigate. All of them revolved around the youngest student within this class, Ruby Rose.

He took a seat at his desk, and ignored the files that surrounded it. Most of them were parents sending letters to their children, congratulating them about intimation. One of the interns could take care of handing those out, he had other priorities.

He opened up his scroll, and went over the student bios. He found the one marked Ruby Rose, and started to read the bio that Qrow had written for him.

_Ruby Rose, age 15._

_Ruby is young, yet full of talent and ambition. Her physical abilities are remarkable, though she does get a bad reputation for her personality. Ruby suffers from slight schizophrenia. It's only minor, and she simply refers to it as the other voice. But it does not affect many things to her._

_Ruby's schizophrenia is brought on from a tragedy when she was younger. Her mother, Summer Rose, was killed by Beowolves after Ruby was badly burned in a factory explosion. The poor girl had to watch as her mother died, and she now bears physical marks on her arms and the side of her face from the incident._

_Since then, Ruby has changed. Her voice can get deeper, and her eyes can change color. Her physical strength is unprecedented, and many would do well to remember that. She has been struggling with her past for a while, but it has not changed her strength and power. She has a __natural ability to lead in combat, and I believe that she is one of the most gifted students I have ever had._

Ozpin set his scroll aside, and pondered over this. Clearly, some of it seemed to be false. One with schizophrenia wasn't simply given this much of a chance. Especially with Ruby's past. Losing her mother and being injured in a factory explosion in the same day, one could break. It didn't seem like Ruby hadn't done just that. He was going to have to take care to keep a close eye on Ruby this year.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

Ruby lead the three girls down the hall, and her silver eye was wide with excitement. For a long time, Ruby wanted to make a difference in the world, something good. It looked like she was finally going to have her chance.

The partners for the sisters were a bit more nervous. They had watched Ruby carve a Death Stalker and Nevermore with ease, and Weiss had seen her rip a Beowolf's head off cleanly. Well, not cleanly, but it certainly hadn't seemed like Ruby had much of an issue. That concerned them for obvious reasons.

Yang was fine. She wasn't as excited as her sister, but Ruby had more reasons to want to do good in the world then Yang. But she most certainly wasn't nervous. Nothing was there to stimulate Ruby's bloodlust in any way, so why should Yang be fearful? So long as Weiss and Blake didn't piss her off, then things would be fine. But if they did, oh there would be issues.

Ruby finally stopped outside the dorm designated as theirs, and smiled to her team.

"This is it!" She said excitedly. "We're here!"

"How are you so excited?" Blake asked calmly.

"Because, I wanna be a huntress!" Weiss and Blake exchanged looks of surprise. It seemed as though the hardline between her mask and face wasn't the only sudden change that they had.

The four girls walked inside, and noticed that all that was laid out for them was their pajamas. Ruby's short sleeved top and her pants, Weiss' lace blouse, Blake's blouse, and Yang's t-shirt and shorts. All that was left was another note, one saying, _other supplies will come tomorrow. _

"Huh," Ruby said. "I guess we just sleep tonight and trust that our stuff will be here in the morning."

"You think?" Yang asked playfully. Weiss and Blake were watching the scene unfold, completely unsure of what to do. "Anyways," Yang said. "I think I might wanna go and grab a cup of coffee or something. Blake, care to join your new partner?" Weiss flashed a look at Blake, one that clearly indicated that she wished for the girl in the black bow to stay with her, and not leave her to Ruby. But for the same reasons Weiss wanted Blake to say, Blake wanted to leave.

"Sure," she said.

"Cool," Yang said. "Weiss, Ruby, we'll be back. Ruby, try to not eat Weiss."

"I'll do my best," Ruby said with a grin. Weiss whimpered, and Yang nudged the heiress.

"I'm kidding," Yang said. "She doesn't eat people." Yang and Blake left the room, and Yang poked her head in one last time.

"Often," Yang added in suspiciously. She closed the door, and her new partner just stared at her.

"That was a little cruel," she said.

"Yeah, I wasn't joking," Yang said. "Ruby has eaten Grimm before, and I don't doubt that she would eat a person." Blake's eyes widened as she watched Yang walk away, and she looked back at the dorm. Her own secret may not be as significant as never learning what her new leader's was.

_Inside RWBY's Dorm_

Weiss was sitting stiffly on her bed, watching Ruby move carefully. She hadn't really adjusted much since Blake and Yang had left. It was difficult for Weiss to tell if Yang was joking or being serious about the eating people thing, but Weiss certainly didn't put it past her.

"Relax," Ruby said as she rolled over in her bed so her eye was staring at her upside down. "I'm not gonna attack you. I'm totally fine." Weiss just nodded, and looked at the bathroom door. "I'm gonna take a shower," Ruby said. "I'm coated with blood."

"That would seem to be a smart idea," Weiss said calmly. Ruby picked up her pajamas, and walked into the restroom. Weiss instantly stripped down, figuring that she only had a short time before Ruby would finish up.

Ruby walked into the bathroom, and closed the door. She smiled to herself at how fun the day had been. But, some of the blood had gotten under her clothes and that needed to be addressed.

She slowly took off her mask, and looked at herself in the mirror. She still felt calm, but slightly stirred at the sight of her own face. Ruby proceeded to take off her gloves and set them aside. She turned on the shower water, and started to strip down. Most of it had gotten off of her, and she smiled at her reflection. Despite the atrocities that rested on her arms and face, Ruby had a good figure.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

"Ruby," Weiss called from the other side. "I need to grab some makeup in there."

"Don't come in!" Ruby said instantly._  
_

"I won't look at you," Weiss argued. "Plus, we're both girls."

"I said stay out!" Ruby snapped.

_Kill her, _the other voice said, finding it's moment to stir. _Kill her and keep my look hidden._

"If she opens the door, I will," Ruby said quietly. She readied her arms, and stared at the door.

"Fine," Weiss said. "I'll wait." Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped into the shower. Weiss had only narrowly avoided death, and that was a good thing. But there was only so long that Ruby could keep the lust quelled.

_Later on that Night: Ruby's Dreams_

She was younger, much younger. At the most, she was eight years old. Her face remained unmasked, and her arms open. Everything about her was completely pure, which meant good things at that moment. But the dream was familiar to Ruby, and she knew it would only continue for so long.

She walked down the forest, calling out a name. The name tasted sweet and sour. Sweet for the moment, but sour for what she knew that after affects would be.

Ruby finally reached a building, and she looked over it carefully. It was large, white, and plain. The snow that drenched the area around it also polluted the roof of the building. It seemed out of place to Ruby, but she didn't question it. She kept yelling out the name, but saw nothing.

Within another moment, the scene changed. The factory was suddenly in ruins, and Ruby had buried her arms and face in the snow. She was in agony, and all that she could feel was fire. But something more was coming from the flames. Something else.

After another moment, Ruby was standing over the corpse of a woman. The woman wore a white cloak, but it was stained red. Within her young hands rested the woman's throat, and Ruby stared in horror at her own work.

After another instant, she was surrounded by Beowolves. All of them looked like they wanted a chance at the corpse, and all that stood between them was them and Ruby. She closed her eyes, and felt herself slip into blackness.

_Let me show you what I have seen, _the voice said. _And I can tell you what happened here._

"No!" Ruby said. What she didn't realize was that she had just woken up, and was the first to do so. No one had heard her, which meant good things. Ruby could get her minimal supplies unpacked, and then get dressed. Just in time for classes as well.

_Later on that Morning: After Weiss Awakes_

To the surprise of no one, Weiss was the last one up. The heiress wasn't exactly keen on getting up early. Ruby had kindly shoved her out of her bed, which almost warranted a larger reaction. But then she had seen that half mask and that silver eye, and Weiss really didn't want to see the red and black one.

After the other three had unpacked and gotten sorted out {as Ruby had unpacked already} they noticed that they had more space then expected with four girls living together. Mostly since all Ruby seemed to have was spare clothing, Crescent Rose, and a spare pair of gloves and a spare mask. Plus, Weiss only had a few personal items.

"Look at all this space," Ruby said happily. "So long as none of you get in my way, we should be fine."

"What about me?" Yang asked.

"Especially you," Ruby teased. "Now, I think our first class is in about four minutes."

"WHAT?!" Weiss yelled out.

"Yup," Ruby said calmly. "We should probably get going." Before anything else could really happen, the rest of her team blew past her. Ruby took a moment to gather herself, but then chased after them. Perhaps she had made an error in calculating everyone's speed to be as fast as her own.

_Professor Port's Classroom_

The doors were thrown open, and team RWBY hurried to their seats. Just after they managed to get seated, four other students, JNPR Ruby believed, ran inside as well. They only just got their seats before the bells rung, and the professor, a rather large man with massive eyebrows and an even larger mustache, took a look at all of them.

"Good to see that everyone made it," he said easily. "Now, let us begin with class. My name is Peter Port, you must call me Professor Port." The class all murmured something, and his mustache moved just enough to lead them to believe that he was smiling.

"Monsters!" He began. "Deeeeemons! Yes, the creatures of Grimm go by many names. But I simply refer to them as prey, haha!" Ruby felt her interest slip straight through her at this.

_Monsters, _the voice said. _Demons. Prey. These are things that we know. Well, we know about making them prey. Everything here is about killing Grimm, and I think that we know how to do that. Simply rest, we both need your body for later._

"Okay," Ruby mumbled. She started to adjust to become a little bit more comfortable, and then kept one eye on class. Weiss noticed this, and gently elbowed her partner.

"What're you doing?" She hissed.

"Resting," Ruby replied. "I know how to kill Grimm." Weiss was about to scold Ruby more, but then Port shifted around his attention.

"Who here believes they have the blood of a true huntress?" He challenged. Ruby lifted up her head, and let her senses fill the room. She could tell, a Grimm was nearby. Meaning that Ruby knew what Ozpin meant by, 'blood of a true huntress.' And it meant doing something that she very much so enjoyed doing.

"I do," Ruby stated, her eye beginning to flicker between silver and red and black.

"Then come and prove it," Port said. He gestured to his side where a single cage rested, and a pair of glowing eyes was visible. Ruby felt her mouth begin to salivate at the prospect of it. She didn't care what Grimm it might be, so long as it was something to kill.

_Give me this, _the voice requested.

"Done," Ruby whispered. Her team watched as Ruby stepped down to the middle of the floor, and slowly pulled out her scythe. After another moment, she put it away.

"Are you sure, Ms. Rose?" Port asked.

"Positive," she replied, her voice dropping down to the bass that signaled who was in power.

"Alright then," Port continued. "Let the match, begin!" Port pulled out a blunderbuss axe and cut the lock off the cage. Instantly, a Boarbatusk came charging out of the cage. Ruby waited for the right moment, and dove over it. She rolled to her feet on the other side, and watched as the Boarbatusk took it it's feet.

"Excellent dodge," Port called out. Ruby watched as it ran at her again, and rolled out of the way again. She was just trying to time her strike, and to do that she needed to learn the Grimm's patterns.

After she got to her feet, the Boarbatusk ducked into a ball. It started to spin, and then it rolled straight at Ruby.

"How will your dodging work now?" Port challenged. Ruby closed her eyes, and then opened them. Now both matched each other, and they had become red and black.

The Boarbatusk reached Ruby, and she took a single step back and reached her arms out. Both hands hooked onto the two tusks of the Grimm had, and the force of the Grimm pushed Ruby back. She stood her ground, and just pushed back with all of her strength. The momentum between the Grimm and Ruby switched, and it was soon Ruby who was in control.

She felt all of the muscles in her arms ripple, and she ripped both of the tusks off of the Boarbatusk. It squealed in pain, and Ruby smiled cruelly. She stepped forward, and slammed both of the tusks into either side of the Grimm's head. It's skull collapsed under the pressure, and it fell to the ground. Everyone was staring at her, and Ruby was just smiling. Her eyes had returned to normal as the voice sensed that there was nothing more that they could attack without raising alarm.

"Well," Port said slowly. "What an intriguing way to end class. You are all dismissed." Everyone got up and left the room as quickly as possible. Port stared at the corpse of the Boarbatusk, and shook his head. What type of person did he just receive in his class?

**End: Some things I want to state now. One, JNPR will not be heavily involved in this story at all! Ruby will want as little involvement with other people as possible, so fuck the Cardin arc and fuck the Forever Falls arc for JNPR in this story. So next chapter, we're gonna be jumping a fair amount ahead. After the episode 15-16 {or 9 and 10} arc, then all of it becomes my own story. So just some heads ups, questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	5. Left Side

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 5: Left Side

**So uh, if all things work out I am amped as shit for the next chapter. So I will be writing this chapter waaaaaaay early, and the next one will literally get done ASAP because man, I cannot stressed my amped nature for that chapter. So suffer through this one. I say eyes to signify that both of the eyes match each other, just so that you know. I understand you can't see them, but I think I've stated that Ruby's other eye is always that red and black color {if not, whoops}. Yes, the gloves are really strong. Lined with lots of leather, plus we see their wardrobe takes lots of abuse so don't question much. Now, back to the story.**

It had been over a month since RWBY had their first class. Along the way, they had sparred {Ruby holding a perfect record outside of her team}, learned, and taken field trips {including an interesting one that involved a dispute amongst two teams in Forever Fall}. But one thing held true, RWBY maintained no ties with the other teams.

They knew JNPR, and they knew of CRDL, but they made nothing last. Yang talked to some of her friends, but they kept to themselves as a unit. The cold and quick tempered heiress along with the reserved bookworm weren't exactly keen on meeting new people, and it definitely wasn't in Ruby's list of priorities to do so. So they kept quiet, and everyone was fine with it.

But today was different. Today, students from the other kingdoms would be arriving in Vale for the Vytal festival. Weiss insisted on bringing them all out to "observe" the other students as they came in. Though really, Weiss wanted an edge in the tournament.

Every student in the school had jumped at the opportunity to fight in the tournament. They began to study and train harder then ever for a chance at that title, but not Ruby. She was afraid that if she got too caught up in the moment, she might do something irreversible. That was not a chance she was willing to take. By consequence, Yang also had to forgo the tournament. Though, the blonde didn't really mind. Really, the two girls had just come out to the docs to support Weiss and Blake.

"Come on!" Weiss insisted. "The students should be arriving soon."

"Aren't you going to comment on the planning?" Ruby challenged, a half smile {could have been a full smile, no one knew}. "Or all of the work?"

"I would," Weiss said slowly. "Except I fear for what you may do if I do comment on it."

"Right," Ruby said. "Be very afraid." Ruby took a sudden step towards Weiss, causing the heiress to jump slightly. Ruby and Yang broke out laughing, and Weiss just gathered herself.

"Very funny," Weiss said haughtily. "Imbecile."

"Don't make her mad," Yang teased. Weiss flashed a glare at Yang, attempting to convey the message of, "drop it," as well as she could. Yang held her arms up in defense, and the group walked forward.

After another step, something caught Ruby's eyes. It was a Dust shop, but it was roped off from the general public. Glass was everywhere, and every piece of Dust was taken from it.

"Whoa," she said quietly. The other three followed her line of sight, and walked towards the crime scene.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Yang asked softly.

"Uh-huh," Ruby replied. "Nothing violent will happen here."

_I'll be the first to know if it does, _the voice contributed.

"Shut up," Ruby muttered. Yang looked at her sister softly, and just put an arm around her. "I'm fine. Just a little chatty." Yang took her arm off, and the sisters ignored the hesitant looks they were getting from Weiss and Blake. The two had gotten more used to the conversations that Ruby and Yang would have, but it always seemed to involve a third person.

The girls reached the crime scene, and looked into the store.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, her natural curiosity getting the better of her.

"Robbery," the first detective said.

"Robbery," Ruby repeated. She could feel the blood on the left side of her face, and her hand instinctively went up.

"You thinking White Fang?" The detective continued, completely ignoring Ruby.

"I'm thinking we don't get paid enough," the second detective continued. Weiss let out a triumphant "humph," and the folded her arms.

"The White Fang," she said calmly. "What an awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss was very abrasive. She would make sweeping statements that could normally be corrected by a few statements from Blake or Yang or Ruby. But this time, Blake's face went from a concerned one to an angry one.

"What's your problem?" Blake asked. Weiss snorted, and folder her arms.

"I simply don't care for the criminally insane," Weiss said easily.

_Arguing is tiresome, _the voice said.

"There I will agree with you," Ruby muttered.

_I could snap their necks. It really would be no trouble for me._

"There I'll stop you," Ruby hissed.

_Of course. But, it was worth a try. _

"Watch out," Yang said casually. She pulled her sister back, and Ruby stumbled a little bit. But she regained her footing just in time to see a flash of yellow and white run past her. She could barely catch his monkey tail, but then he was gone. Ruby sat there for a moment, slightly surprised at what had happened.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Well, you had a chat and he showed up," Yang explained. "Then Weiss made some remark about him being a criminal, and now those two are running after him." Ruby nodded, and ran after them. Yang tried to stop her, but realized it was pointless. The blonde simply ran behind her sister, and tried to make sure that the gap was as little as possible.

Ruby finally reached Weiss and Blake, and looked over at them. Weiss and Blake were staring at the ground, leaving Ruby to wonder why. Yang caught up with her, and her superior height gave her the ability to look over not only Ruby, but where Weiss and Blake were standing.

"Whoa," Yang said.

"What?" Ruby whined.

"Looks like there's someone on the ground. If I had to guess, either that monkey Faunus knocked her over, or Weiss and Blake ran into her."

"Are you gonna get up?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

"I like B better," Yang added in. Ruby saw a brief flash of movement, and noticed that a girl had risen from where Blake and Weiss were staring. Ruby and Yang ran up behind their partners, and looked at the girl.

"Salutations," she said enthusiastically.

_Something's different with her, _the voice said. _Kill her, and let me see what._

"No," Ruby said quietly.

"My name is Penny," the girl continued, apparently missing what Ruby had said. "What are yours?"

"Ruby."

"Weiss."

"Blake."

"Yang." Penny's eyes went from girl to girl, but they seemed to stop at Ruby.

"You," Penny said. "You're different."

"Ruby is the youngest," Yang covered. Penny nodded, but seemed suspicious.

"So why are you here?" Weiss said, wanting to change the topic as soon as possible.

"To fight in the tournament," Penny declared boldly.

"Wait," Blake said, raising up her hand. "You're going to fight in the tournament."

"Uh-huh." Weiss' eyes brightened instantly, and she walked towards Penny.

"Do you know about the filthy Faunus from the boat?" She challenged. Blake's eyes instantly turned hostile again, and it wasn't a change that Ruby missed.

"The who?" Penny asked.

"The Faunus rapscallion!" Weiss stated.

"Stop calling him that!" Blake said, finally snapping in her anger. "Stop calling him a degenerate, stop calling him a rapscallion, he's a person!"

_Arguing is so futile, _the voice said. _I could end all of this pointless bickering with one quick twist. Oh please let me end this._

"No," Ruby muttered. She backed away, and brought her hand up to the left side of her face. Yang noticed this, and she looked back at Weiss and Blake.

"I'm going to take Ruby back to our dorm," she said. "You two, get this resolved. Penny, stay with them."

"Okay," Penny said, having no issues taking orders.

"Come on Ruby," Yang said softly as she wrapped her younger sister in her arms. "Let's get you home so you can get some rest."

_Beacon Academy: Team RWBY's Dorm: Ruby's Dreams_

Ruby found herself in a familiar setting. The land was covered in snow, and the world around her was swallowed up by forestation. But there was something different. Ruby wasn't young, she was her age. Even stranger was that her arms were devoid of the gloves and her face was devoid of the mask.

She turned, and saw a figure standing there. The figure wore a black combat skirt with some red fringe, but it was torn. It's chest was exposed from open wounds, and the red leggings were also butchered in a similar way. It's arms were covered in red and black gloves, with fur lining them. It's face was concealed by a single red and black mask, leaving nothing to show. It's cloak that it had was completely torn to shreds, but it still clung to it's neck. Ruby knew who this was all too well.

"Hello Ruby," it said in a bassy version of Ruby's voice.

"The voice," Ruby muttered.

"Really, we need a better name then the voice, don't you think? I was thinking Onyx. Fitting that a black gemstone would be the thing that I would be named, as you are named after a red one."

"Why are you here?" Ruby asked, feeling pressure coming in from all of her sides. Her chest was tightening, and her ability to breath was being effected greatly. This thing had been inside of her for a long time, and it had done so many things that she hadn't wanted too. Seeing it manifested as though it was her was almost too much.

"I am here because I cannot leave," Onyx replied easily. "You and I are bound by things that no one can understand, even if you wanted them too."

"No, why are you here!" Ruby demanded. "In my head, torturing me."

"Ruby, I am not torturing you," Onyx said. "I could never do that. I am simply handling the tasks that you cannot." Ruby screamed at Onyx angrily, and ran right at it. Before she could do anything, Onyx suddenly grabbed her arms and dipped her.

"I talk to those you cannot," Onyx started. "I act when you cannot, I confront those you cannot, I feel things that you cannot, I kill those you cannot, all I ask is for a bit of flash for the occasional kill. I protect you, Ruby. I could never hurt you." Ruby was picked up by Onyx, and found herself staring at the eyes covered by the red and black of the mask. As if reading her thoughts, Onyx slowly pulled off the mask, revealing it's face. "I love you." Onyx kissed Ruby, and the younger girl found herself unable to resist. The two melded together, and found themselves in a romantic embrace.

After a few moments of this, Ruby found herself released by Onyx.

"I know that you find what I do repulsive," Onyx said easily. "And I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. But what I do, I do for us. We are the same person, Ruby. You do not wish for the world to know of this," Onyx pointed to itself as it spoke. "And so I will do everything in my power to ensure that world doesn't. But I love you, and I can do you no harm."

"The dreams," Ruby said quietly.

"They are memories that I cannot control," Onyx said sadly. "But if one night you wish to see what happened, take my hand and I'll show you." Onyx held out it's hand, and Ruby stared at it.

"I don't want too," Ruby said quietly.

"Holding onto that innocence that is so easily preserved through the belief that I am the only one without it," Onyx said approvingly. "I would expect nothing less from you. Goodbye my love, troubled times are calling." Onyx sunk into the earth, and then the world turned black. The whole place was pulled from underneath Ruby, and she felt her eyes open.

Ruby sat up in her bed, and looked around. Yang and Weiss were standing nervously, talking quietly. Ruby rubbed her eye, and stretched out.

"Oh," Yang said, noticing that her sister was up. "How'd you sleep?" Remembering the kiss from Onyx, Ruby's face turned a darker shade of red.

"Fine," Ruby said easily. "Where' Blake?"

"Oh," Weiss said nervously. "Blake... She..." Weiss took a deep breath in, and then went forward. "While Blake and I were arguing, things got heated. She told me she was a member of the White Fang, and then ran off." Ruby felt a sudden stab in her chest at the news, and she looked down sadly. Blake, one of the two people she had learned to trust, had kept this from her. Not that the White Fang had anything to do with Ruby's past, but they certainly were a criminal organization that needed to be stopped.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"She told me. Then she panicked and ran off because she's a criminal!"

_I tried to tell you, _Onyx sang. _I tried to tell you that she was not human. Her bow, it hides cat ears. I know this, for I can watch while you sleep. She spent many a nights at the window, bow in hand. I almost woke you up to invite her to dine with us. But the main course would be Faunus pussy, haha._

"Onyx, please," Ruby muttered.

"What?" Yang asked. "Onyx?" Ruby nodded, and pointed to her head. Weiss didn't even pretend to understand what was going on, but focused her attention on her leader.

"Whether or not we search for her or turn her over to the police is your decision," Weiss said. "Myself and Yang talked over it, and we are at a crossroads." Ruby thought for a moment, but the thinking wasn't just her.

_We find her, _her own voice rang out from within. _We find Blake, and we bring her home._

_If that is what you wish, I will aid, _Onyx replied. _But be warned, the path with this one is dangerous. She will neither hate nor love you if the time comes and you reveal me. You continue down this road, and I can only promise physical protection._

"That's more then enough," Ruby said quietly. She looked up, her eye changing back and forth from red and black to silver. "We find Blake," Ruby declared. "I will go alone, while you two travel as a pair. Clear?" Weiss nodded, and instantly left the room. Yang stayed behind, and grabbed Ruby's arm.

"Are you sure?" Yang asked.

"Onyx will not do anything to harm people until Blake is back," Ruby said quietly.

"Who the hell is Onyx?" Yang asked.

"The voice. The voice said it's name is Onyx, as I am Ruby. I can find her a lot faster if I don't have to worry about you two, okay?" Yang sighed, and rubbed her little sisters shoulders.

"I love you Ruby," Yang said.

"I love you too Yang," Ruby replied.

"Let's bring Blake home safely and keep you out of trouble, okay?" Yang asked. Ruby nodded, and slung Crescent Rose over her shoulder.

"We'll find her," Ruby assured. "If not you and Weiss, then myself and Onyx. I don't have control, but it'll do this for me." Yang nodded, but felt concerned. Onyx hadn't exactly shown her reasons to believe that this wouldn't go wrong.

_Streets of Vale: Later that Night_

Ruby walked down the empty streets, and sighed. Nothing had been found of Blake, no matter how hard she tried. Judging by Yang's frequency of, _any luck? _messages, Ruby could safely guess that Yang and Weiss were as far as she was.

"Blaaaaaaake!" Ruby yelled out. "Blaaaaaaaaake!"

_I can help, _Onyx sang quietly. _If you'll let me, I can tell you where she is._

"How?" Ruby asked, feeling very hopeful all of a sudden.

_Let me take control. I promise, I won't kill anyone. _Ruby sighed, and realized she had no other options. _Good girl._

Ruby's eye shifted from it's normal silver to match the color of the eye that remained concealed, red and black. She looked around her, and focused in the direction of the docks. Without another word, Ruby moved along. {**A/N**}.

_Docks_

Ruby climbed on top of a container, and looked around. The yard remained empty apart form the Dust, so why was she there? Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a Dust container across the way from her. Lying on it was Blake and the monkey Faunus from earlier. Ruby felt her eyes narrowing, and she almost made a move. Almost. But Onyx anchored her down, and so Ruby complied.

Her reasons for staying put didn't go unanswered for long. A bullhead flew into view, and started to slowly land. Men piled out, and Ruby recognized their uniforms as those of the White Fang. She swung her gaze over, and saw that Blake looked disappointed.

_Ask her later, _Onyx edged on. _But I want blood. Will you supply the vessel for me?_

"No," Ruby muttered. "Not unless we have too."

_Look up. _Ruby complied, and saw Blake running towards one of the men. She was running at the only man that wore something different. A white coat with a bowler hat, accompanied by a cane. Ruby knew him, somehow. His name was Roman Torchwick, but anything more was beyond her.

_She will get in trouble, _Onyx said, edging Ruby closer to acting. _Then you will have to save her. Tell me, do you want to save her?_

"Yes," Ruby muttered.

_Then let me fight while you think, _Onyx added in. Ruby heard an explosion, and watched as Blake was sent sailing back. She just nodded, and rose to her feet.

"HEY!" Ruby yelled out. Everyone shifted their attention to Ruby, but Torchwick was the first to snap out of it.

"You deal with the cat," he ordered. "I'll deal with the girl." He pointed his cane at Ruby calmly, and fired off a round. She jumped into the air, and landed on the ground below the crates safely. She looked up at Torchwick, and saw him staring blankly.

"Deal with her," he ordered. "I have a transfer to watch over." Torchwick walked away, and several White Fang pulled out swords. Ruby almost reached for Crescent Rose, but she could tell Onyx didn't want too. So she stood up calmly, and waited for someone to make a move.

The first White Fang charged her, and swung around a strike at her. Ruby easily ducked under it, and then grabbed ahold of his neck. With one twist, he died.

"Next," she barked out in Onyx's voice. The second White Fang ran at her, and this time Ruby broke his arm before snapping his spine. Two charged her at the same time, and this time Ruby jumped up. Both of them stopped for a moment in surprise, but were unable to stop the two strong fists that caved in their skulls. Ruby came to a standing position in time to grab ahold of a White Fang who was attempting to run away.

"Deserters are meant to be punished more severely," she said cruelly. He held up his hands futilely, aiming around his throat and skull. But Ruby had other plans. She released her right hand from holding him, and left that task to her left hand. She put her right hand in a claw, and swung it right at his chest. She felt it break through all of his bones and cartilage, and found what she wanted. She heard him scream in pain and terror as Ruby's hand clenched around his heart, and she pulled it out of his body. She tossed the soon to be corpse to the side, and smiled at her trophy.

She didn't have much time though. A loud sound was heard, and Ruby managed to jump out of the way of an explosion. Before she got an opportunity to land, a second explosion was felt right underneath her. Ruby went through the air, and landed on the ground. She looked down at her wardrobe, and her eyes widened with fear. The bottom part of her combat skirt was in flames. If she were to do nothing, the fire would eventually spread to her gloves. Ruby looked over and saw the ocean. It only took a moment for Onyx to act on the fear that Ruby felt, and she took off in a sprint. Just as she reached the water, Ruby jumped into it.

_Later on_

The rest of the fight had taken place without Ruby. She had simply told the lie that she had been blown into the water, and left it at that. Torchwick and the White Fang got away with a lot of Dust, but they had at least saved some of it. Better yet, Weiss and Yang was coming to pick them up.

Ruby was just sitting in silence with the monkey Faunus {who's name was Sun as she had come to learn} and Blake. None of them had said anything, and not too surprisingly to Ruby, Sun was the one to break the silence.

"So you ripped a dude's heart out," he said slowly. Ruby shrugged. "A shrug? Seriously? You went all Aztec on that dude and you're gonna give me a shrug?"

"It wasn't just me," Ruby said slowly.

"Then who else was it?" Sun asked.

"Onyx." Sun went silent as he started to get where Ruby was going with it.

Weiss and Yang finally arrived, which broke what was quite possibly the longest period of silence that the trio had had. Yang instantly hugged Ruby and held her close, asking if everything was okay. Weiss had just walked up to Blake and started to talk with her. Everything was going over smoothly for them, but Ruby had other thoughts.

Her and Onyx had formed an odd sort of unity. One that would apply for time to come.

**End: I! AM! SO! HAPPY! Loved what I was able to do this. A/N was to say that Ruby still has her body and mind, but Onyx controlled the movements. Trust me, there is a fine line between this and Onyx taking control. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	6. Shades of Red

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 6: Shades of Red

**So I started up this chapter almost immediately after the last one. While I think the last chapter was my best chapter to date, I think that this should overtake that chapter. I am really excited for this one. Only thing I will say, Onyx is neither him nor her, it is an it. Onyx does not abide by the laws of gender, even though it does take on the shape of Ruby. Thank you to everyone for getting me to 50 followers! So happy cause of how much I love this story. Now for the first original chapter by me, so let's get going.**

Time had marched on without much of a hindrance. Blake had slowly felt more comfortable within her team, and it was something that everyone appreciated. It helped that Ruby still hadn't fully revealed what Onyx was. While Blake's comfort rose, her fear of Ruby did as well. She never was able to just let the fact that her leader was clearly not alone go by unnoticed.

But Ruby had gone this long without a real incident. Really, they met in the Emerald Forest and Ruby had yet to lash out in way that she wouldn't be able to take back. That brought some confidence in Ruby that Onyx had kept it's promise to her, and it was doing all that it could to remain hidden.

With this growing confidence in not herself, but Onyx, Ruby and Yang spent a little more time apart. Though, it still wasn't much. But if Ruby and Yang were to have different classes, Yang felt comfortable allowing Ruby to find her own way back to their shared dorm.

Today was one such days. It was after an unfortunate extra period with their history professor, Oobleck, that was brought on by some disruption. Ruby wasn't actually too sure as to how she wound up stuck in there with everyone else, but she was too tired to question it.

She walked down the halls calmly, and noticed that someone was right in front of her. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and focused in on his items. He had orange hair and indigo eyes. He was tall and muscular, but most of him was covered up by silver armor. Ruby took a moment to remember that it was Cardin Winchester, who was the team leader of CRDL. He was also directly in her way.

_Kill him, _Onyx whispered. _We have to kill him._

"No," Ruby said sternly.

_You don't understand. This time-._

"Quiet." Ruby kept walking, and saw that Cardin stuck out his arm to block her path.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Ruby replied, trying to keep herself reserved. "Can you move?"

"Not before I talk with you," Cardin continued. Ruby sighed, and didn't move. She didn't want to create a scene or get herself fired up in any way, because then Onyx would surface. "Now, there's been lots of talk about you. The young girl that jumped up two years and seems to specialize in scaring everyone around her. Yet, no one knows what's behind that mask."

"Burns," Ruby replied easily. "My arms and my face are all burned really badly. They're pretty gross."

"You see," Cardin said calmly. "I don't think you're telling the truth. And when someone has secrets, I want to know them."

"Please don't push this," Ruby said. She could already feel Onyx attempting to seize the chance to fight. "It's really just burns."

"Jauney boy managed to make me owe him my life," Cardin said, completely ignoring what she had to say. "And so I need someone else to do my work for me. Get her."

Time seemed to slow down for Ruby. She could faintly feel three people walk up behind her. If they had tried to hold her down, Ruby felt confident that she would be able to stop them. But they didn't. One grabbed hold of her mask, and the other two got her gloves. Ruby didn't have time to react before they were pulled off of her body. She froze, and realized that she was in full view.

Cardin turned a satisfied look to his team, and then looked at Ruby. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped.

"W-w-what?" He stuttered. The rest of his team reacted in similar ways, and the items that they had taken from Ruby dropped to the floor. Her eyes filled with fear, but then something happened. Her body went lax, and her posture straightened out. Her eye changed from it's normal silver to match it's sister, a dark red and black.

"Now you die," she said, her voice dropping straight to the basement. It was no longer Ruby in control, it was Onyx.

Onyx stepped forward, and reached out for the two that had grabbed their gloves. It took both of their heads in her hands, and swung them into each other. Both of the heads cracked, and fell to pieces on either side. It tossed aside their corpses, and watched as the one with the mohawk tried to reach for his weapons. Onyx was on him before he got a chance, and she ripped his throat out. Onyx tossed aside his corpse, and walked straight over to Cardin.

He had time to pull out his mace, and he took a hearty swing. Onyx just grabbed it at the shaft, and ripped it from his grasp. Cardin called out in slight pain as his fingers were pulled and dislocated, but Onyx instantly grabbed his head with both of her hands. Onyx started to apply pressure, and ramped up the amount quickly. Cardin's skull soon shattered, and his body fell to the ground.

Onyx looked over the scene, and realized that it didn't look like self defense. It bent down, and picked up it's mask and gloves {which luckily remained mostly untouched by blood} and placed them back on. It then sprung Crescent Rose to life, and looked over the bodies carefully. A gunshot would most certainly be heard, so it had to plan.

After getting exactly what it wanted mapped out, Onyx dragged the bodies slightly apart. It took aim with Crescent Rose, and fired off two rounds into the first two members of CRDL's heads where the empty spaces were. It then swung around her scythe into the space where the third member of CRDL's throat was. It then picked up Cardin's mace, and swung it into what remained of his skull. It then tossed aside the mace, and looked over at the scene. Only a few moments before someone would arrive, and so it had to complete the scene.

Weiss, Blake, and Yang rounded the corner and into the halls. They had heard gunshots, and it had only taken Yang a moment to identify the sound. Crescent Rose certainly had a unique sound.

The three girls stopped at the scene in front of them. Ruby was kneeling on the ground, and around here were four corpses. Of the four, only one held a face still. The one with a face was the only one without a throat as well. Yang slowly walked over to Ruby, and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Ruby?" Yang asked softly. The younger girl turned her head, and Yang saw a silver eye full of fear and tears.

"It happened," Ruby said weakly. Yang wrapped her younger sister in a hug, and started to slowly stroke her hair.

"Shhhhh," Yang sang softly. "It's okay. I've got you, Onyx is gone, okay? You're going to be okay." Yang looked at Blake, and mouthed the words 'get Ozpin,' to Blake. Blake nodded, and took off. Weiss also left with Blake, but it was purely because she was beginning to gag at the sight. There was a lot of blood.

"Shhhh," Yang sang. "You're okay." Yang continued to hold Ruby close, and felt as the girl slowly cried into Yang's arm.

_Later_

After Weiss and Blake had grabbed Ozpin, he had returned with several members of staff. He had let Ruby calm down a little bit, but he still had to ask her questions.

"Now Ruby," he said, trying to keep his voice level. "Can you please inform me of what happened?"

"Cardin stopped me," Ruby started. "He talked to me. Then he threatened me, and then the other three jumped me. I pushed off of them, and fired off my sniper. I killed the first two by hitting them in the head. I swung around the blade into the throat of the third. Then Cardin hit me, and I managed to wrestle away his mace. I hit him once, and then I hit him again, and then-." Ruby stopped, and Ozpin nodded.

"I'll need your clothing," he said softly. "I'll need all of it, and that includes the mask. Evidence procedures."

"But-." Ruby started.

"I recommend that you have a teammate pick up some spare clothing," Ozpin continued. Ruby's eye widened in understanding, and she gave a pleading look to Yang.

"Weiss," Yang said, keeping her arms around Ruby. "Can you grab a spare change of clothes?" Weiss nodded, but before she could run off, Yang grabbed her arm. "Grab the spare mask and gloves," Yang said. Weiss nodded again, remembering where Ruby kept her one backup of all three of her items.

After a short wait, Weiss returned with a neatly folded pile of clothing. Ruby walked over to the closest empty room, and undressed. She was able to take off her own clothing and put it all back on within a minute, and she walked outside. Ruby handed off the bloodstained clothing to Ozpin, and he looked over them.

"I shouldn't imagine needing them for very long," he said easily. "From what you have told me, this should be over shortly. We will notify the families of their children's actions, and then we shall return your clothing."

"Thank you," Ruby said. Yang helped her sister up, and walked with the rest of RWBY back to their dorms. Ozpin just stared at the blood covered mask that belonged to Ruby. How was one girl capable of this much damage?

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

The door to their dorm opened up, and the four girls walked inside. Weiss and Blake had remained deathly silent, and Yang only acknowledged her sister with gentle words and tones. Once they were inside, Yang set Ruby down on her bed. She hugged Ruby again, and then looked at Weiss and Blake.

"Can you two give us a moment alone?" Yang asked them. Weiss and Blake nodded, and walked out the door. Yang pulled Ruby in close again, and felt Ruby begin to come undone. "Ruby, what happened?"

"It wasn't what I said," Ruby said through a sob. "Cardin came at me. He told me he wanted to know my secret. Onyx wanted to kill him, but I told it not too. Then, the other three grabbed my gloves and mask. I froze, and then I came to it again and there was blood. Onyx told me what to say, but there was blood. There was just so much blood." Ruby lost it, and cried into her sisters chest. Yang sang softly, and stroked Ruby's hair, doing everything she could to calm her down.

"It's okay now," Yang said softly. "You're with me. Onyx can't act right now. You did the right thing."

"I know," Ruby cried. "But when I saw the blood, I didn't see CRDL. I saw Mom." Yang froze for a brief moment, but then resumed stroking her sisters hair. "I saw her, and I was holding something in my hands, and..." Ruby shrunk into Yang even more, and the blonde continued to stroke Ruby's hair lightly.

"It wasn't your mom," Yang said softly. "It was CRDL, and they were vile. Ruby, don't do this to yourself. It wasn't you."

"No," Ruby cried. "It was Onyx. Onyx lied to me, I know it."

"What did Onyx promise?" Yang asked. Ruby went silent, and refused to speak.

"I'm going to sleep," Ruby declared suddenly. Yang nodded, and slowly tucked Ruby in.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Yang asked. Ruby nodded, and Yang jumped in with Ruby. She slowly stroked her younger sisters hair, and Ruby's eyes slowly closed.

When she opened up them up, Ruby was back in a snowy forest. Her arms were normal and her face was unmasked, which assured her that this was what she wanted. Across the way from her, was a figure. The figure wore a torn up combat skirt, gloves, and a full mask.

"Onyx," Ruby said shakily. Her knees felt weaker, and Ruby could feel her throat go a little dry.

"Ruby," Onyx replied easily. "I hope you understand what I did today."

"I don't," Ruby replied fearfully and angrily. "Tell me, now!"

"You froze," Onyx said, slowly working it's way towards Ruby. "I had to act on that. If not, then your worst fear would have been realized. Cardin wouldn't have held something for you to do in return for this, he would have turned it in instantly. He was nothing more then a vile coward, and I had to take out the trash. The flash was necessary. Plus, I covered it up for you."

"You killed them," Ruby said angrily.

"I did what was necessary to protect us," Onyx replied. "You don't want me to be revealed, and so I protected you. You just can't see me for what I am."

"I can!" Ruby replied angrily.

"No, you can't. Otherwise I wouldn't be appearing like this." Onyx pointed at it's attire, and continued to stare at Ruby. "Let me assist." Onyx pulled off the mask, and tossed it to the side. It then pulled off the gloves, and threw them aside. "And if you saw me how I wanted you too, you'd see me like this." Onyx reached behind it's back, and dropped the combat skirt.

For some reason, seeing it's naked form made Ruby hurt. She felt physical pain around her arms and face, forcing her to drop to her knees. Onyx casually strolled over to her, and knelt down.

"Look at me," it commanded. Ruby did, and Onyx grabbed ahold of her face. "Now stare into my eyes." Ruby complied. Soon, the pain began to go away. Ruby felt alleviated from everything, and all she felt was welcomed. "Better?"

"Better," Ruby admitted. Onyx let go of her face and grabbed hold of Ruby's arm, gently leading her up to a standing position. "But, how?"

"You and I are not the same person," Onyx started. "We aren't like each other. I am not you and you are not me. I am not a separate personality, I am someone else. You need to admit that what I do protects you." Onyx gently stroked Ruby's cheek, and smiled. "It's what those do for love." Onyx leaned into Ruby, and kissed her passionately. Ruby found herself unable to not return the favor, and the two just held each other in a warm embrace.

Ruby woke up, and looked around her. She saw that she was still in her dorm, but it was now night. Weiss, Blake, and Yang had all fallen asleep. But Ruby had just woken up. She had to kill time.

_Maybe there's a way I can keep __Onyx satisfied, _Ruby thought. _Maybe I can do it without hurting others. _She looked at the front door, and then back at herself. Having never gotten a chance to dress out of her normal clothing, any kind of walk was possible.

Ruby picked up her scythe, and started to walk towards the door. A small hunting trip to the Emerald Forest and a violent kill, just to reward Onyx for it's job protecting her.

**End: Okay, so I may take the next time this comes up in the writing cycle. I really outdid myself {I feel} these last 2 chapters, and so now I want to ensure that I do a good job next time as well. This story I don't want to wing, so I may spend some time getting it down pact. Oh, I also have a YouTube series that I wanted to advertise here but forgot to several times, Cody Talks Fanfiction. Guess what it's about? Give it a watch {by Codynight22}. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	7. Whispers

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 7: Whispers

**Man, how this chapter came about is really bizarre. I was reading Snowy Vale, and then the word Faunus popped up. Somehow, all of this rushed to me. Don't ask me how, I literally have no idea.**

It was the morning after Onyx had killed CRDL. Her plan to go on a walk through the Emerald Forest and mutilate Grimm to satisfy the other being within her had worked. She had arrived before even Blake could awake, and Onyx had nothing to say. But then came the next part, going to breakfast.

Normally Ruby had no issues. She would sit with her team, and no one would question her. But this morning was different. RWBY was at their table, Yang was next to Ruby and Weiss was seated next to Blake. But people were talking. Ruby could hear whispers. Whispers about CRDL, and what she had done to them.

"Did you hear about it?"

"The bodies are wrecked."

"No way that one person could do it. Kid's a freak."

Yang could see Ruby's fists curl into a ball, and her eye began to flicker between silver and red and black. Yang sighed, and put her arm around Ruby. The brawler could hear several gasps of surprise, and suddenly Yang was the one who wanted to let Onyx come forth and deal with them.

"How're ya feeling, champ?" Yang asked.

"Fine," Ruby replied. Her voice dipped in and out of being her own and being Onyx's.

"Ruby, don't let this get to you. CRDL were all dicks."

"Big ones too," Blake contributed. "Though I doubt that we can say the same for the literal interpretation of that word."

"You did us a favor," Yang continued.

"I know," Ruby replied, this time the voice her own. "But I don't want people to be afraid of me. I wanna be normal."

"Take off your mask then," Weiss said absentmindedly, her hands working ferociously to file her nails. Ruby growled at the heiress, and Weiss held up her hands innocently. "It was just an idea."

"A bad one," Blake added in.

"Coming from the girl who ran away for fear of acceptance amongst people she was living with for a month," Weiss added in smoothly.

"Well when you put it that way it sounds bad," Blake said jokingly.

"Guys!" Yang snapped. "Ruby, please, don't let them get to you. Breathe in, and keep Onyx there."

"May I ask who this, 'Onyx' is?" Weiss asked.

"Onyx protects me," Ruby whispered. "Onyx cares for me, kills for me, and it killed CRDL. Onyx is what has kept me alive." Weiss and Blake looked at each other, the concern never more evident.

"May I speak with Onyx?" Weiss tried.

"For fucks sake Weiss," Yang said angrily. "This isn't a goddamn therapeutic session for the insane."

"I'm not so-."

"Weiss, do you wish to meet Onyx?" Yang asked. Weiss nodded. "Keep talking like this, and it'll be you answering questions while Onyx has it's hands around your throat. And trust me, I've known Onyx for a lot longer then you. Killing you would be nothing." Weiss went dead silent, and she leaned back in her chair. Ruby's hand absently trailed up to the left side of her face, and it slowly rubbed the smooth metal that coated the outside.

_Thank you for sticking up with me, my love, _Onyx sang to her.

"I have to," Ruby replied quietly.

_No, you don't. You could simply ignore me and pretend as though I don't exist. How difficult it was to love from afar while being so close. But now, we are together. We may disagree on some things, but we stay true. I hope this continues._

"It will," Ruby whispered. Her team wasn't staring at her anymore. They had become so accustomed to Ruby's conversations, and so they were very lax when she spoke to seemingly no one.

Ruby felt someone walk up behind her, and she looked across the table at Yang. Her sister mouthed the words, 'Faunus' and Ruby nodded. She turned around, and noticed a girl with rabbit ears. She wore brown colored shirt that cut off at her stomach, but her stomach was covered by a black suit that appeared to go down her whole body. Her shorts matched her top, and they were all lined with golden armor pieces on her shoulder, hips, and waist.

"Hi," the girl said shyly.

"Hi," Ruby replied with equal levels of shyness.

_Could you give my hello? _Onyx asked as Yang, Weiss, and Blake went about introducing themselves.

"No," Ruby muttered.

_Afraid that I may come off wrong? Don't worry, I'm not hungry. Yet._

"So why'd you come over here, Velvet?" Yang asked.

_So a name, _Onyx said happily. _That's good. It makes it more fun to kill those with a name._

"I just wanted to see who killed CRDL," Velvet replied. "And say thank you."

"Thank you?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Yeah," Velvet replied. "They were all bullies, and now it's rumored that anyone who bullies will have to deal with you. So thank you, you've made my life a lot easier." Velvet walked away, and Ruby just watched her go. Her right eye remained trained of the Faunus, and it held nothing but confusion.

"Hear that Ruby," Yang said calmly. "You're a hero for her." Ruby silently went back to eating, and completely ignored Yang. "Come on Rubes, don't beat yourself up."

"I'm not," Ruby replied. "But I am not a hero." Ruby kept eating in silence, and just ignored her team. After a short period of time, Ruby finished up.

"I'm going to our room," Ruby said instantly. "I can't take it out here." Everyone nodded, and waved goodbye to Ruby. She picked up her stuff, and walked towards the dorm.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

Ruby threw the door open, and jumped into her bed. Velvet had thanked her, and told her that she had made the Faunus' life quality better. That was the last thing that Ruby ever expected. She didn't care for CRDL at all, but she did care for what Onyx had done. No one, no matter how evil they may be, deserved to die like they did. They died with nothing more then ruthlessness.

_Still beating me up for that? _Onyx asked.

"I can't let go of their faces," Ruby replied. "When they were on the ground, it was my mother and not them. I know it sounds crazy, but it was."

_What sounds crazy is what's hidden beneath that mask, _Onyx replied. _And the fact that I even exist. What sounds crazy is that I love you. Seeing the face of someone you loved and lost is not crazy._

"But it's hard," Ruby said, a tear coming into her eyes. "It's hard to go through like this." Ruby was greeted with silence, and Ruby felt more uncomfortable. She was never left in silence. Either she was talking or Onyx was, there was never silence.

_Do you want to see what happened? _Onyx finally asked. _Close your eyes, and I can show you. _Ruby thought over this question. She had run away from her mother's death for so long, that it was time that she finally confront it. If she never did, then she would live in regret and anger for even longer. But if she did, that regret and anger may grow. It was a risk she was willing to take.

Ruby laid back in her bed, and closed her eyes. She felt sleep come over her instantly, and she knew exactly where she would be.

She was in the snow covered woods, but it was different. She was up in a tree, watching over the scene. Her appearance was exactly as it was while awake, masked and gloved. Ruby took them off, and looked at herself. Her arms and face were clear, so why were they already on?

"I thought that you may want to see things how I do for this incident," a voice next to her said. Ruby turned, and saw Onyx seated right next to her. "I'm unfortunately needed for this scene," it continued. "So I will have to leave. But I do believe that you'll be fine to stay up here." Ruby looked around her surroundings, and noticed that there were some things missing.

"Where's everything?" Ruby asked.

"Hm," Onyx said. "It appears that I have forgotten some things. Give me one moment." Onyx raised it's hands, and several things came to life. A factory rose from the ground and Ruby was put a ways off. "And, scene!" Onyx said.

Ruby watched as her eight year old self walked along. She called out for her mother over and over again, just waiting on something to happen. She finally reached the factory, and paused. Something was wrong, Ruby knew that. She had stopped outside of the factory due to a smell. Some kind of foreign scent that seemed off.

Ruby finally started to back away, but it was clearly too late. The whole factory exploded, and Ruby hopelessly raised up her arms to cover her face. Fire streaked across her arms and the left side of her face, and Ruby screamed out in pain. She stuck her head and arms in the snow, and slowly stood up.

Ruby looked down at her arms, and froze with fear. Something had happened to them, something more then burns. She felt her face, and realized that it had changed as well.

"Ruby?" A gentle voice asked. Ruby watched as a woman in a white cloak stepped forward, and Ruby instantly recognized her. It was her mother. "Ruby, are you alight?"

"Mom," Ruby said, her voice fluctuating between deep and high. Her eyes kept flickering between their normal silver to black and red. "Mom, help me."

"What happened?" Her mother asked.

"It blew up," Ruby cried out, her voice starting to favor the deeper end. "I was just walking along, and it blew up. My arms, they're burned. But they feel worse. They hurt so much." Summer held out her hand slowly, and felt Ruby's face. The younger girl winced, and Summer switched to the right side.

"It'll be okay," Summer said softly. "We'll get you help." Ruby started to cry as the pain worsened. And then she just collapsed. "Ruby?" Summer asked softly. "Ruby! RUBY!"

Ruby's eyes shot open, and they were a different color. They had finally settled on black and red, and her voice had gone to deep. She stood up, and grabbed Summer by the throat.

"NO!" Ruby yelled out from her perch as she watched the younger Ruby grabbed Summer's throat. "STOP!"

"You cannot reverse the fate of a memory," Onyx said very matter of factly. "Now if you'll excuse me." Onyx jumped down, and ran over to the younger Ruby. It joined in with her, and it became the younger Onyx.

"Ruuuby," Summer choked out.

"It's been too long since I've been out," Onyx said. "I need death."

"Who-who are you?" Summer managed.

"Your daughters new guardian," Onyx said cruelly. It gave one hard pull, and Summer's throat was ripped from her.

"MOM!" Ruby yelled out. She suddenly felt pain again. Her arms began to hurt as did her face. No, it wasn't hurting. It was burning. Her arms were on fire, as was her face. She fell out of the tree, and landed in the snow. "NO! NO! NO!"

"Get up," a cold voice said. Ruby looked up, and saw Onyx standing in front of her. "Get up and finish the memory."

"I've seen enough," Ruby cried. "Get away from me."

"I can't," Onyx replied. "I am bound to you by unusual circumstances, as you just witnessed. You wanted the memory, and so I'm giving it to you."

"I should have known," Ruby sobbed. "I should have known that it was you that would so something like this. You killed my Mom."

"Something I regret," Onyx replied.

"GET OUT!" Ruby screamed with furry and sadness. Onyx straightened up, and put on it's mask.

"As you wish," it said evenly.

Ruby snapped awake, and looked around her. She saw that the dorm was widely empty, except for one person. It wasn't the person she wanted either.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked worriedly. "You started to thrash around. Your hands went up to your mask, and I didn't know what to do."

"Yang," Ruby cried. "I need Yang."

"She's in class," Weiss replied. Ruby screamed in agony, and tore one of her pillows in half. "I can't get her without informing Ozpin of this."

"Can't," Ruby said in agony. Her emotional pain was leading to physical pain as well. She felt as though walls were collapsing in on her. Her chest felt tight and her body felt as though she was being engulfed in flames. "I need help!" Weiss cautiously stepped forward, and delicately placed a hand on Ruby's hand. The girl trashed, but a little less violently.

Weiss stepped closer, and slowly worked her way to Ruby's bed. Weiss very cautiously hugged Ruby, and felt the younger girl stop thrashing. She placed her head on the hem of Weiss' skirt, and the heiress started to stroke Ruby's hair.

"Shhh," Weiss said, trying her hardest to mimic Yang's tone. "You'll be okay."

"It killed my mother," Ruby cried into Weiss' skirt. "It promised me that it would protect me, and then killed my mother."

"Onyx?" Weiss asked. Ruby nodded and her sobs only furthered.

"Onyx told me it loved me," Ruby cried. "But how can it say that when it killed my mother?" Weiss was silent, unsure of how to reply. Clearly, Ruby was in a state well beyond Weiss' control. Yang's class was almost over though, and Weiss had already sent off the message that told Yang to get to the dorm as fast as possible. "Say something Weiss," Ruby cried.

"I don't know," Weiss replied calmly. "I can't tell you what to do here."

"But you excel at that," Ruby said. "You always tell me what to do. You try and make me better, even though Onyx is always there. Tell me what to do."

"I don't know," Weiss repeated. Ruby fell silent. The girl was tired after having cried so much and so hard, but she didn't want to sleep. She didn't want to risk seeing what it was that she had seen again.

After a few more minutes, the door was thrown open. Yang and Blake had returned from their classes, and Yang instantly locked in on Ruby. She ran straight to Ruby's bed, and grabbed ahold of her sister. Weiss let go of the younger girl instantly, and stepped away from Ruby and Yang.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked softly.

"Onyx," Ruby sniffed. "It killed my mother." Despite how many times she had said it, every time she said that statement it hurt just as much as the first time.

"Just tell me what you need to," Yang sang. She looked at Weiss and Blake, and gestured for them to leave. The two girls never even questioned it for a moment, and left the room instantly. As soon as the door closed, Yang redirected her attention back to Ruby. "Do you want me to take off the mask?"

"Yes," Ruby said softly. "It hurts so much right now." Yang nodded, and gently removed the piece of metal from Ruby's face. She then delicately pulled off the gloves, and held Ruby like a small baby. "Sing," Ruby said quietly. "Can you please sing for me? Like when I was a baby?" Yang nodded, and cleared her throat for a lullaby.

**End: I would like to preface this by saying I feel as though Beacon would schedule classes for partners. So that's why it was Weiss and not Blake. There. Please, I'm not trying to hint at White Rose {even though I know it sounds like it}. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated. **


	8. Walks

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 8: Walks

**Thank you to everyone for getting me over 40 favorites! I'm really happy that y'all are enjoying it. Also, I love this chapter. I loved it so much, this is my Birthday gift to myself {March 30th by Tucson, Arizona time}. So uh, I guess that I can ask y'all for a ****birthday gift. Uhhhh, 100 followers? Sure, why not? 100 followers. Might as well. But uh, let's get things going.**

The time after Ruby and Onyx's fallout was strange for the girl. Onyx had left her alone, leaving Ruby with an odd level of silence. Ruby had spent the past seven years with a second voice in her mind at all times, and the silence made her feel uncomfortable. Ruby did still need Onyx, and so she talked with it at night. Ruby was ready to forgive, but Onyx was not. It showed her things, horrible things that Ruby didn't want too see.

But Ruby wanted Onyx back, no she needed Onyx back. Her life wasn't quite the same without it. It was a drug, a terrible addiction that she couldn't shake. But this time, Onyx was inside her. She couldn't quit Onyx because Onyx was her left side, Onyx was her arms, and Onyx was her fighting.

Ruby was sitting in her bed and slowly untying her boots. It was almost time to sleep, but Ruby wasn't sure if she wanted too. Sleep meant another night with Onyx, and it was painful love. But she couldn't really avoid it, no matter how hard we tried.

"Hey Ruby," someone said. Ruby lifted up her head, and focused in her stare. Weiss and Yang were standing next to her, with Blake standing near the door.

"Hey guys," Ruby said easily. "How's it going?"

"Good," Yang added in. "I just wanted to talk to you for a bit."

"Okay," Ruby said. "What about?"

"You haven't spoken with Onyx in days," Weiss said. "The day that Velvet thanked you was the last time that you did. I understand that may not be a bad thing, but I know for you it is. Is everything alright?"

"I forgave Onyx," Ruby whispered absently. "I told it that everything was okay. But it doesn't forgive me. Not for what I said to it, for nothing. Can I go now?"

"Yeah," Yang said.

"No," Weiss followed up. "You can't. Onyx, hey, come out!" Weiss' voice started to rise, and Yang looked over at Weiss, and grabbed her arm.

"Don't go down this road," Yang hissed.

"Ruby needs Onyx," Weiss replied. "We can't let it-."

"Ruby doesn't need anything," Yang said in an angry voice. "Without Onyx, Ruby can be Ruby."

"She's in pain," Weiss snapped. "Ruby is!"

"ENOUGH!" Ruby roared. Her voice flickered between deep and high, meaning that Onyx was somewhat present. "I am fine! Onyx is fine! We are simply at a standstill."

"And what if you need to fight?" Weiss challenged.

"I'm fast," Ruby replied. "I can move fast, and Onyx is strong. I'll be fine. Now, I'm going to sleep." Ruby turned away from her team, and closed her eyes. Luckily for her, Onyx was merciful for that night and instantly pulled her into sleep.

Ruby's eyes opened, and she was in the same snow covered forest that she was always in. But she could tell that night was different. Onyx was in front of her, mask and gloves on. That detail alone was different. Normally Onyx appeared with no gloves and mask, and made every point to show it to Ruby.

"Onyx," Ruby said happily. Ruby ran forward, but found herself unable to after a few steps. Ruby's feet were stuck in the snow, and Onyx had it's hand raised.

"Ruby," it said slowly, savoring every letter of the word. "I am only here like this because you stood up for me. I didn't believe you had."

"Of course I have," Ruby said. "It was seven years ago."

"It was also your mother," Onyx said. "I needed to kill her when I awoke. I didn't know the other Beowolves would be there. You must understand."

"I can't," Ruby said quietly. "I can't understand but I forgive. Please, let's not talk about this. Can we please treasure our time together?"

"We're always together," Onyx said as it let go of it's hold on Ruby's feet. "No matter what. But now, now we can engage in more physical contact." Ruby ran into Onyx's arms, and held it close.

"I missed this," Ruby cried softly. "I missed being with you."

"I know," Onyx replied. "I missed you too. But I need something from you, my flower."

"Hm?" Ruby asked.

"A walk," Onyx replied. "I need a walk like those you used to take. I have been without the sight of fresh blood in a long time. I've been forced to use memories to satisfy myself. Please Ruby, I need this."

"Of course," Ruby said. "Anything for you."

Her eyes snapped awake, and Ruby carefully felt her mask. She looked at the window, and noticed that it was light.

_Light? _Onyx thought. _How intriguing. I __guess I kept you longer then I thought. _Ruby looked around her surroundings, and saw that Weiss, Blake, and Yang were all absent. A single note was left on her dresser, and she looked over it carefully.

_We all had to go out to class, and you're not in this one. Blake and I will be gone until lunch, but Weiss should be back soon. Stay safe baby sis,_

_-Yang_

Ruby set down the note, and looked at the clock. It said that it was only 9:50, which meant that Ruby still had time before Weiss returned.

_Our waaaalk, _Onyx whispered.

"Do not worry, Onyx," Ruby whispered. "I'm going. I just need to get changed first."

_A chance to see our form is always welcome, _Onyx said easily. Ruby nodded, and went to work stripping down.

_A Little While Later: The Edge of the Emerald Forest_

Ruby carefully worked her way into the woods. The most well known entrance to these woods was Beacon Cliffs. It was the one place that everyone knew about. But Ruby had found a small pathway that lead straight to the edge of the woods. She pulled out her scythe, and walked in.

Ruby would walk along for as long as she needed to too find a fresh kill. If it meant pleasing Onyx, then Ruby would do it. She had too. But the Grimm were becoming more and more fearful of Ruby. They had a higher reluctance to attempt to kill her, which meant that no one would dare confront her and Onyx.

"There's nothing here," Ruby observed.

_I need something, _Onyx demanded. _I need blood._

"You can't always kill," Rubt said.

_Why not?_

"It's not right."

_Let me tell you Ruby, I need this. You don't know, but I need this._

"Look what we 'ave here," a vile voice said. Ruby turned, and saw four men circling around her.

_Perfect, _Onyx thought. _I prefer the blood of men to the blood of beasts._

"A li'le lost girl," one of them said. "I wonder what she's got wit her."

"I see a mask," another one said. "It looks like it made out of Stalka's Steel. Rumor 'as it that the going rate for Stalka's Steel id very good."

"And a wea'on made of it too," the third contributed.

"Would ye like to see what we make it by on?" The fourth one said. All of them pulled out swords, and Ruby just held up her arms cautiously.

"Please don't do this," Ruby pleaded. "If you do, there will be bad things that'll happen."

"O' course there'll be bad thin's," the first one said. "We gonna rape ya n' then gut'ya like a rat. Then we gonna sell your items and make us a fortune."

"The consequences won't be for me," Ruby said. "They'll be for you." All of them let out a laugh, and Ruby took a deep breath in. "I'm a huntress from Beacon," she said, in a last ditch effort. Ruby knew that if this didn't work, then Onyx was going to take over.

"Ye can' be more then a fifeen," the second one said. "Bea'on my ass."

"Okay then," Ruby said, her voice dipping down from it's normal pitch. "Onyx will take it from here."

"And who is dis, Onyx?" The third one asked. Ruby's eye changed color from silver to red and black, and then Ruby felt her presence step away.

"Me," Onyx replied, it's voice completely deep. It lunged forward, and swung her fist into the first one's stomach. The attack was so sudden, that he didn't have time to react. The first man buckled down to his knees, and Onyx kicked him. It would ensure that he wasn't dead, but it was enough to incapacitate him.

Onyx instinctively ducked, and watched as a sword passed harmlessly over her head. Onyx stoop up, and grabbed the second man by the throat. It looked him in the eyes, and then pulled. The man's neck broke, and then his throat followed the force of the pull. Onyx tossed aside his corpse, and stepped towards the third one.

He took a swing at it, but Onyx just ducked out of the way and swung it's fist into his chest. The force of the punch went straight through his chest, and then Onyx pulled it out. Before Onyx even turned, it swung around it's arm into the stomach of the fourth one. His body went sailing, and then crashed into a tree. It smiled, and then looked back to it's first target.

The man was trying to crawl away. Most of his internal organs had been damaged badly, and that meant that movement was painful. Onyx just strolled over to him, and picked him up by his shirt collar. Onyx spun him around to look it in it's eyes, and then grinned happily.

"Please," the man begged. "Don' do this."

"You had your chance," Onyx growled. "You should have listened to the girl." Onyx placed it's thumbs over the man's eyes, and started to apply pressure. The man gave out horrible wails of pain as Onyx slowly applied more and more pressure. Soon, his eyes popped. Then Onyx kept going, until his skull started to break. With one last wail, his skull broke and shattered into his brain. Onyx gave a smile, and lowered it's guard. It shifted around itself back to Ruby, and let the girl stare at her bloodstained hands.

"I tried," Ruby said sadly. "I tried to tell you." Ruby suddenly felt a sharp pain enter her stomach, and Ruby let out a wail. She turned around, and saw one of the men holding up his sword weakly. Out of the four of them, only one had an aura. That was the one that Onyx hit against the tree. He had enough to stop him from dying, but he was still in extreme pain. He watched as the girl broke through his friend's skull, and he knew that his only chance was vengeance. Unfortunately, he hadn't gone high enough for a killing blow.

Ruby swung around her arm, and hit him right in the head. He instantly felt over dead, his spine finally giving way. But Ruby had a sword through her stomach. She sunk to the ground, and gave one pull to get it out. Ruby yelled out in pain, but then diverted her aura down to her stomach. It should have been a quick heal, but the flow was thrown. Ruby tried again, but the flow was disrupted again.

"Onyx!" Ruby yelled out.

_It's not me, _Onyx said. _I thought it was you._

"Onyx, I'm bleeding. I need to heal."

_I'm trying. _Ruby tried again, but the path was wavered. Ruby couldn't heal herself, and she was losing blood.

"Beacon," Ruby whispered. She grabbed one of the fabric's from the dead men's bodies, and tore it in half. She placed it over her open wound, and wrapped it tightly. Ruby then grabbed a Dust round from Crescent Rose, and popped it open over the wound. It let out a small blast, and Ruby winced in pain. But then she saw that the wound had partially cauterized, but if she were to do it again it would most likely damage herself even more. So Ruby used her makeshift patches to start walking back to Beacon.

_Beacon Academy: Team RWBY's Dorm_

Weiss was sitting on her bed. Ruby wasn't at the dorms when she had returned, which made Weiss believe that Ruby had either run off or gone on a walk. If Ruby was still absent by the time Blake and Yang returned, Weiss was going looking.

She heard a knock on her door, and she sighed.

"Who is it?" Weiss asked.

"Ruby," a quiet voice called out.

"Why don't you-?"

"OPEN THE DOOR!" The voice yelled. Despite the fat that it was yelling, it still sounded quiet. Weiss sighed, and opened up the door. She looked at Ruby, and saw how pale her face is. Ruby's arm was down low at her side, and Weiss changed her expression.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"No infirmary," Ruby pleaded. She moved her arm, and Weiss' eyes widened. She noticed a huge bloodstain, along with a blood trail.

"Oh god, Ruby!" Weiss said. The girl collapsed to the ground, and Weiss held out her arms to catch her. "I have to get someone else."

"Yang," Ruby managed. "Blake. No one else. No doctors." Weiss felt Ruby growing colder, and she dragged her over to her bed. Weiss managed to get Ruby on her bed, and slowly laid out out. Weiss opened up Ruby's top from that wound, and gagged slightly. It was wide open with blood all around it. Weiss delicately placed a hand over it, and used her aura to close it.

"Thank you," Ruby whispered.

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

"Thieves in the Emerald Forest," Ruby whispered. "I was trying to find a Grimm for Onyx. I found them. One lived and stabbed me. I tried to heal it, but we couldn't agree. The flow was disrupted." Ruby let out another breath, and Weiss looked at the door. It would be a while before Yang and Blake would return.

"You should rest," Weiss said. "You've lost a lot of blood." Ruby nodded, and closed her eyes. She fell asleep instantly, and Weiss looked at the door. Food would be a good idea for when Ruby awoke, but she didn't want to leave her. Who knew who would wake up? But there was still an hour before Yang and Blake would return.

Weiss waited, and waited. It had only been a half hour, but that half hour felt like an eternity. Weiss looked at her nails, and then back at Ruby. She was so peaceful. Weiss knew that Ruby must have been having dreamless sleep, and she smiled. Weiss felt very close to her partner, despite the fact that both of them often clashed. Weiss' feelings ran deep, but Ruby couldn't see that. Weiss could have sworn that Ruby loved Onyx, and that made her situation awkward. But no matter, Weiss would just act dignified.

_You could see it, _she thought. _You could see Onyx. But do you want too? Ruby has done so much to conceal it. But I want to... _Weiss stood up, and walked over to Ruby. She delicately placed her hands on the mask, and slowly lifted it off of her. Weiss held it still to the point where she could still just see the mask. Ruby didn't stir, and Weiss pulled it away. The heiress let out a small gasp, and then put the mask down.

The left side of Ruby's face was worse then she had thought. There were red welts from burns, and her skin was patchy. That much Weiss cold deal with. The swelling, the lines, everything. But the parts that weren't damaged from burn marks were covered by something. They were covered by black fur. Pure black fur, all of it surrounding her eye, it was black and red.

Weiss then proceeded to gently take off Ruby's gloves, forcing herself to further explore her theory. Once they were off, Weiss felt her heart break even more. Ruby's arms were also burned badly, and where there wasn't burns there was fur. But her hands were grotesque. They were twisted in bad angles, and there were claws at the end of her fingers. They didn't look human to Weiss, they looked animalistic.

"Grimm," Weiss whispered. "Grimm." Weiss backed away for a moment, and then took a deep breath in. "It's still Ruby," Weiss whispered. "You can put the gloves and mask back on, and Ruby'll never have to know." She stepped forward, but then Ruby stirred. Weiss froze, and Ruby sat up.

"Ugh, that sucked," Ruby groaned. She looked over at Weiss, and smiled. "Thanks Weiss."

"You're welcome," Weiss replied. "I think you need some more rest though."

"Why?" Ruby asked. "I feel fine." She stretched out her arms and then froze. She lowered her arms, and stared at her hands. She instantly felt up to her face, and looked at Weiss in pure horror. "What did you do?" Ruby asked, her eye flickering between silver and red and black.

"Ruby," Weiss started. "Please, I wanted to know. I'm fine, you're still you and-."

"No, no, no, no, no," Ruby started, her hands reaching up to her face. "Why? WHY?!"

"I wanted to know," Weiss cried. "Please Ruby, I love you."

"I'm going to kill you!" Ruby said, but Weiss could hear her voice dip and see her eye change to match it's sister, red and black. She prepared a battle stance, and got ready to raise a glyph. Just as she did, the door opened up.

"Hey guys," Yang said. Then her eyes saw Ruby standing there, and then they noticed her appearance. Yang froze for a moment, which was long enough for Blake to walk in. Without another thought, Yang ran over and tackled Ruby to the bed.

"LET ME GO!" Ruby screamed. "I HAVE TO KILL HER!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Yang screamed.

"I took off the mask," Weiss replied, trying to keep her voice even. She was going to remain as level headed as possible, for Ruby's sake.

"Shhhhh," Yang whispered. "Calm down, calm down. It's okay, it's okay."

"SHE KNOWS!" Ruby screamed, her voice a mix between horror, anguish, and sadness. "SHE KNOWS WHAT I AM!"

"I don't care," Weiss said. "I won't tell anyone."

"Weiss?" Blake asked. "What's going on?"

"Can we not do this right now?" Yang snapped. "Shhhhhh. Ruby, calm down, calm down. It's gonna be okay." Yang took a deep breath in, and hugged her sister a little tighter.

"Red like rooooses, fills my dreams and leads me to the place you rest," Yang started. "White is cold and always yearning, burdened by, the royal test." Ruby's thrashing began to slow down, and Yang just continued. "Blake the beast descends from shadows. Yellow beauty buuuuuuuuuuuurns, gooooooold." Ruby stopped thrashing at this line, and her eye returned to silver. Ruby turned into Yang's chest, and cried. She cried, and cried, and cried.

"Why?" Ruby sobbed. "Why did this have to happen to me? I want my mommy, I want to be normal, I want to lose this."

"I know," Yang said softly, stroking her sister's hair softly. "I know you do. But we accept you. No one else has to know, okay?"

"I don't believe you," Ruby cried. "I believe that you won't, but they'll tell someone. They will. Onyx will kill them."

"They won't," Yang said quietly. "It's okay, I've got you. I will always have you, my baby."

"Make the pain go away," Ruby sobbed, her eyes completely red. "Make the pain go away Yang, please. Make the pain go away and make the voices stop."

"I wish I could," Yang said gently. "But I will hold you for as long as I need too." Yang looked over at Blake, and sighed. "Blake, tell Ozpin that Ruby fell ill. She needs to be on rest for the rest of today. Go, now." Blake nodded, and ran off. Yang looked over at Weiss, and sighed. "Get her her spare mask and gloves, and then get out of here."

"There must be something else-," Weiss started pleadingly.

"Do you see Ruby?" Yang hissed. "Do you see what you've done?" Weiss nodded. "Good, then you've done enough today." Weiss felt tears go up to her eyes, and she grabbed the mask and gloves. She handed it off to Yang, who was somehow holding herself together for her sister. But Ruby was a wreck. Her eyes were filled with tears, and a solid stream of water was going down into Yang's chest. Her shoulders were moving up and down rapidly, and nothing but sounds of sadness were heard.

Weiss gave Yang the gloves and mask, and then ran off to cry herself.

_Kill her, _Onyx whispered. _She did things and said things that cannot be undone. She said she loved you, do you understand that._

_Stop! _Ruby thought. _Not now._

"Don't let go," Ruby whispered.

"Never," Yang replied. "Never. I won't ever let them get you Ruby. I promise."

**End: I am so happy right now because of this chapter. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated. **


	9. Confrontations in Comfort

Two Sides to a Coin Ch 9: Confrontations in Comfort

**Y'all failed me. Did not get to 100 followers for the last chapter. WAY TO RUIN A BIRTHDAY! Nah, I'm kidding. Y'all are wonderful and beautiful and I loved you reacting to my reveal. I would like to give a special shoutout to damian-lucius-black because I was so confident that no one would guess my secret with Ruby, and literally the 7th review he fucking guessed it. So god damn you for blowing my confidence in a few hours... But seriously, he's pretty great. Y'all are all great. Now enough of me being nice, time to break your souls.**

The rest of that night was spent rather simply. Ruby had remained in her sister's arms the whole time, her body eventually tiring from how much she had cried. When that happened, Yang sent Blake to fetch Weiss so that she could sleep there. Yang also fell asleep with her sister in her embrace. Yang had to remain so strong for Ruby so often, that it had become second nature. She didn't have the luxury to cry for her sister, no matter how badly she wanted too.

Blake and Weiss had slept shortly there after, but not after being plagued by thoughts of Ruby. She was so afraid that it had resulted in evident pain, and that was concerning. Blake had managed to learn about what was hidden behind Ruby's mask. The Faunus had taken it in stride, but it brought something to her attention.

As a Faunus, you struggle with the mindset of man versus beast in the war of Grimm, and where do you fit in? But Ruby, she must have been truly lost. She was part Grimm, she had a Grimm voice inside of her, and she killed like a Grimm would. The things that the poor girl must have felt would be awful.

Weiss went to sleep feeling nothing but guilt. She had acted on nothing more then curiosity, and she had the full intention to put the gloves and mask back on and simply bring it up with Ruby in private. When Ruby had woken up so early, it terrified Weiss. The way that she had reacted forced Weiss to say something that she shouldn't have, and now she was paying for it.

Sleeping on these thoughts was difficult. But by the same token, being awake with these thoughts lead to difficult times. Difficult times lead to tired bodies, which eventually lead to exhausted bodies. Exhausted bodies were very rarely able to deny one of sleep, and Blake and Weiss soon followed.

The next morning was greeted by silence. The four girls all woke up at around the same time, but it was Yang who had woken up first. She was afraid to move, and so the blonde remained. Ruby awoke soon after, then Blake, then Weiss.

Yang watched her sister's face, and noticed how full of sadness her eye was. Yang pulled Ruby in close, and just sighed.

"Blake," Yang said. "Tell Ozpin that Ruby is still ill. Tell him how bad she is, and make sure to include that she'll need a caretaker for all of today. Also inform him that I want to volunteer for that roll." Blake nodded, and pulled out her scroll. She tapped out Ozpin's number, and walked out of the room.

"As for you," Yang said, looking over at Weiss. "I have half a mind to let go of Ruby and let her do what she pleases with you. No one would have to know, and it'd be far too easy for me to claim that it was self defense after you assaulted her." Weiss nodded, and kept a close eye on the window. "But, I will let Ruby be. She's been through a lot already, I don't want your death to be on her mind as well."

"Thank you," Weiss said.

"Don't even thank me, heiress," Yang growled. "I may just have Blake kill you and be done with it."

"Don't," Ruby whispered into Yang's chest. "Please, no more death."

"Okay Ruby," Yang said, her voice dropping back down to a soft tone. "No more death, I promise. No more death, and there will never be a moment outside of what's necessary where I leave you, okay? I will always protect you."

"You can't," Ruby said, her voice rising back to tears. "You can't protect me. Onyx is inside of me." Ruby took off her mask, and looked at Yang with her burned, Beowolf face. "This is Onyx. Can you hit this and make it go away?" Yang shook her head. "So you can't protect me." Ruby felt herself begin to cry again, and Yang slowly rocked her back and forth.

"I can protect you from everything to entice Onyx," Yang said. "I can keep you distracted, and most importantly I can love you." Ruby nodded, and cried into Yang a little bit more. Both of her eyes had become red, but neither of them remained hostile.

After a few more moments, Blake reentered the dorm. She informed Yang that it was done, and then looked at Weiss.

"You and I have class," Blake said. "And since Yang is caring for Ruby after your incident, I think we should get going." Weiss nodded, and left the room. Yang continued to rock Ruby back and forth, and slowly grabbed her mask.

"Why bother?" Ruby cried. "They already know. Everyone will know."

"Sh, sh, sh, no," Yang whispered. "Only Weiss and Blake will have to know, okay? They'll know, but they're apart of your team. Weiss just wanted to know what was going on with her partner. She was worried."

"She was curious," Ruby said in a low voice. "She wasn't worried. She wanted to know because that's what rich people do."

"No," Yang insisted. "If you keep thinking the world is out to get you, eventually they will be. Stop thinking like this, okay?" Ruby nodded, and curled into Yang's arms a little more.

"Why me?" Ruby cried. "Why did I have to walk by the factory? Why did my mom have to come then? Why does no one just leave me alone. Can I just be alone?"

"I won't let you," Yang insisted. "I will always be with you, no matter what." Both girls remained in silence for a little while longer. But Ruby soon looked up at Yang, and snuggled in a little closer.

"Can you sing?" Ruby requested. Yang nodded, and began a song.

_A While Later_

Ruby had fallen asleep in her sister's lap, and Yang had remained at the ready. She slowly stroked Ruby's hair back, and just awaited the return of Weiss and Blake. The four girls had to talk about what had happened, that much was certain. They couldn't pretend as though it had never happened. When Weiss and Blake returned, Yang would wake Ruby up and the four of them would talk.

That moment arrived just a few moments after Yang had reminded herself of it. She slowly shook Ruby awake, and gestured for Blake and Weiss to sit down.

"We need to talk," Yang said. "And I feel as though it's best I do it now when I have a chance to be here." Weiss and Blake nodded, and Ruby just eyed them suspiciously. "Any questions, ask them now."

"How?" Blake asked, gesturing to Ruby's arms and mask.

"The burns part wasn't a full lie," Ruby muttered. "When I was eight, I went on a walk in the woods. Some kind of a factory blew up, and my arms and face were burned really badly. Then they started to grow fur and twist themselves. And-." Ruby came to a dead stop, and started to breathe heavily. Yang held Ruby closer, and shook her head at Blake.

"That's enough for right now," Yang said softly.

"No," Ruby whispered. "I can still talk." Yang nodded, but kept Ruby close to her chest. "Ask something else, please."

"Why'd you hide it?" Weiss asked.

"You saw me," Ruby said gently. "I see the way that Faunus are treated, and look at me. I'm and ugly monster." Ruby started to weep again, but it was gentle. Weiss and Blake didn't want to ask anymore questions since Ruby was in the state that she was, so they went to start on their work. But surprisingly enough, Yang stopped them.

"Ruby wants to ask you some questions as well," Yang said quietly. "Don't you Rubes?" Ruby nodded, and Yang looked over at the two girls. They sat down, and looked over at Ruby.

"Will you tell anyone?" Ruby asked.

"No," Blake replied. "You guys have said nothing about my Faunus heritage, so I will repay you in kind." Weiss just shook her head, and Ruby accepted that as an answer.

"Only one more," Ruby said. "Weiss, you said you loved me. What did you mean?" Weiss felt her heart drop, and she just took a deep breath in.

"I was trying to calm you down," Weiss said. "I meant I loved you as a sister, I thought it may help."

_Liar, _Onyx said. _She's lying to you. Speak with her alone, and allow me to question her._

"No," Ruby muttered. "I'll talk for us."

_You can't, Ruby. Be honest with yourself. What's a girl against a Grimm?_

"Stop," Ruby muttered. "Stop." Yang gestured for Weiss and Blake to leave, and rocked her sister back and forth.

"The questions will stop," Yang said gently. "Hopefully Onyx will stop."

"Onyx won't," Ruby muttered. "The voices never stop, and the pain doesn't either. It never goes away." Yang kissed the top of Ruby's head, and just sat there feeling the only emotion that she could when her sister said something like that.

Helpless.

_Later on_

Ruby and Yang had barely moved. Yang occasionally got up to get food and water for the two girls, which did force Ruby to shift. Whenever Yang returned, both of them would sit and eat. Yang had started to speak to her sister in a normal manner, which did help Ruby grow more comfortable.

The fear that Ruby had felt for almost the whole day had finally started to dissipate. The fact that the mask had been removed and showed the people that she was closest to what she was had terrified her. A blown cover lead her to believe that killing Weiss may have been the only solution. Worse off, it wasn't Onyx, it was her. Ruby knew that it was her that screamed to kill Weiss, not Onyx. Ruby wanted to kill Weiss, and no matter how hard she tried to justify it she just couldn't.

But night had fallen, and it was almost time to sleep. But there was still one thing that Ruby had to take care of.

"Yang," Ruby said quietly. "Can I talk to Weiss?"

"Sure Ruby," Yang said. "Weiss, can you come over here to talk to Ruby and-."

"Alone," Ruby added in. As much as she hated it, Onyx was right. Weiss would only tell the truth if they were alone, and even then it may not be within Ruby's power to get her to do so.

"Alone?" Yang asked. "Are you sure that you can do this?"

"I have too," Ruby replied. Yang nodded, and looked over at Blake.

"If you need me, I'll be right outside, okay?" Yang asked. Ruby nodded, and Weiss looked terrified. Yesterday, this girl had wanted to kill Weiss. She had screamed and yelled, and only calmed down when the one person that could calm her down had returned. Now that girl was requesting that her older sister leave so that she could talk to Weiss, and that finalized a thought within Weiss' mind.

The door opened and closed too quickly for Weiss, and she was left with the girl in the red and black mask.

"Hi Ruby," Weiss said calmly.

"Weiss," Ruby replied. The initial false greetings were followed by silence. Neither girl knew what to say, and that left them in an awkward place.

"Tell me the truth," Ruby finally said. "You said you loved me, and then said that it was like a sister. Onyx doesn't believe you."

"I was telling-," Weiss began.

"And neither do I," Ruby muttered. Her eye seemed distant, and she seemed to be rocking herself back and forth slightly. Ruby finally took off her mask, and placed it in her lap. She proceeded to take off her gloves, and then flexed her hands a little bit. "You saw this, and said you loved me. Weiss, how?" Weiss took a deep breath in and briefly pondered her options. She could tell Ruby, or lie to her. Telling Ruby the truth may end poorly, but lying to her would most likely result in her death. That was something that Weiss didn't want, and that Ruby didn't need.

"We've been partners for a while," Weiss started. "At first, I thought you were someone to fear. Then I realized that most of the time you weren't, and I decided to keep you away from what it was. I wanted to aid in your time throughout this school, even though I had reasons to distrust you. But it seemed to me that you had far more reasons to distrust me then I had reasons to distrust you, and so I took on a caretaker roll. After a while, I considered you a friend. A somewhat distant friend, yes but a friend none the less. I guess at some point, I realized that you had somehow become a little bit more to me." Ruby sat in silence, and waited for Onyx to emerge.

_Kill her, _Onyx said.

"No," Ruby muttered. "I can't."

_You can't, but I can. Allow me to take over, and I can end this quickly._

"No," Ruby said, this time a little bit louder. Weiss walked towards Ruby, and slowly held out her hand. "Get away from me!" Ruby ordered. Weiss took one step back, but kept on her toes. If things went wrong, Weiss was the only one readily available.

_I can, _Onyx added in. _This will bring you nothing but misery. I can-._

"You bring me misery!" Ruby said angrily. "I have done nothing these past seven years that wasn't influenced by you. You killed my mom and you bring me pain. Get out of my head!"

_Never._

That was all that Ruby needed to hear. At that word, Ruby knew what her situation was. She was destined to a life of misery, and even worse a life of Onyx. But yet, she felt a weird lust towards it. It made her hurt, especially when Weiss was able to tell her something like this. Ruby's heart finally gave way, and she started to sob.

"Yang!" Weiss called out. "Yang, get in here!" The door opened up instantly, and Yang scooped up Ruby in her arms. "I swear, I did nothing." Yang completely ignored Weiss, and just held Ruby as tight as she could.

"Sh, sh, sh," Yang whispered softly.

"I won't let you kill them," Ruby cried. "I swear, I won't."

"Just don't give in," Yang said quietly. "Just don't let Onyx win." Ruby continued to cry into Yang, and the blonde just sighed. It was going to be a long few days.

**End: Slowed down the pace a little bit, and that is what you can expect for the future. Things will be slowed down to develop this a little bit more. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	10. Strength

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 10: Strength

**Thank you to everyone for getting me to 60 followers! Really happy about how this story is doing cause I love it {totally not bias}. **

Ruby splashed water into her exposed eyes, and sighed. She had spent much of the last two days crying, and that ruined her eyes. Her right one was completely bloodshot and almost pure red, while her left eye only managed to maintain hints of black from before. Ruby had come to the days end with nothing but sadness and a feeling of heaviness.

For the first time in seven years, she had to explain herself in some formal capacity. The first time she had been too young, this time she was too scared. It hurt to relive the past, but Ruby understood why Yang had to do it. She always did.

She finally put her mask and gloves back on, and reentered the dorm room. Weiss was sitting awkwardly on her bed, and Blake was just reading a book, even though her eyes remained above the top of the book. Yang was patiently awaiting her sister to exit the dorm, just in case Ruby still needed her. But the little girl in the red hood just took a seat on her bed, and curled up.

Blake watched the whole scene silently. Ruby had closed her eyes, but she was already fretting. Blake couldn't even imagine what it was that Ruby felt at that moment. Her eyes were red, her throat must have been dry, and the condition of her heart was really unknown to all of them. Emotional pain, as Blake had come to learn, hurt more then anything else. It drained you of your physical energy and took an even bigger toll on you mentally.

Blake had so far remained relatively out of the line of fire. Ruby's sudden mood swings and Onyx's aggression had only affected Yang, who was the one person that could comfort her, and Weiss, who was the nay one foolish enough to want to learn what it was that Ruby had hidden. Blake had decided to let Ruby be, as that seemed to be what Ruby wanted most.

Now, Ruby was a wreck. Her secret had been revealed, her emotions were played with, and it seemed as though Ruby couldn't take much more of it. Unfortunately, it had taken a toll on more people then just Ruby.

Ruby was going to resume classes the next day {as she really couldn't afford to miss much more}, and that would mean she had her first class with just Weiss. No one else from RWBY, just Weiss. It was the only time for her plan to take effect.

_The Next Morning_

Ruby was the first to wake. Her dreams had been plagued by memories, making them feel more like nightmares then dreams. But, much to her luck, Ruby didn't cry. If she had cried much more, then her eyes may have fallen out. _It might be an improvement, _Ruby thought grimly. Onyx chose not to reply, giving Ruby a small feeling of relief.

She dragged herself into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She went to turn it up hot at first, but then went back towards the colder water. After getting that setup, Ruby tossed her gloves and mask aside, and pulled off her clothes.

She stepped inside of the cold water, and tensed up. Her body slowly adjusted to the temperature, and Ruby eased herself into the water. She felt her body react poorly to the cold, and she started to shake. Ruby wanted to turn the water up, but while the water was cold she wasn't thinking of Onyx. When she wasn't thinking of Onyx, things were better. No matter how much she had to endure, she didn't want to think of Onyx.

After 10 minutes of dealing with the cold, Ruby shut the water off. She stepped out of it, and dried herself off with a towel. She made sure to put on her bra and underwear, and then carried the rest with her.

She walked into the dorm, and saw that Weiss and Yang had woken up from the alarm clock, and Blake had most likely woken up prior to that.

"Hey guys," Ruby said.

"Way to dress Rubes," Yang teased. "I feel as though I should have some lien on me."

"Way to call your little sister a stripper," Blake said. Ruby smiled, and took a seat. She started by putting on her skirt, then her leggings, then boots, and finally her cloak. Ruby then stood up, and placed her mask and gloves on the bed. Ruby stared down into them, and slowly stroked her face. The burns and scars didn't hurt, but the fur did. Every time her hand went over one of the fur strands, her face was set ablaze. But she didn't mind the pain. It wasn't anything worse then what she had felt before.

Ruby finally put the mask and gloves on, and looked around at the alarm clock. Luckily for her, Weiss had gotten ready as soon as she could.

"We should get going," Ruby said, pointing at the door. Weiss nodded, and stood up. "We'll see you later."

"Bye girls," Yang called out. "And Ruby." Ruby stopped before she left, and turned to face her older sister. "If you get any bad feelings, call me. I'll be over there as fast as I can. Weiss, if she gets any bad feelings, you've seen what I do. You can repeat that, right?" Weiss nodded. "Good. You'll know what to do to hold her over."

"Thanks Yang," Ruby said. She turned and left the room, and not for the first time knew that she would be dead without Yang.

Yang watched as Weiss closed the door, and she sighed. Any concerned older sibling would be concerned every time their younger sibling left the room, but Yang was never afraid for Ruby's physical safety. Ruby had things so rough, that it was hard for Yang not to be worried.

"Well, time to study," Yang said. If it were just up to Yang, her grades would fluctuate between flunking and barely passing. Yang didn't like having to know things, she just wanted to hit things. But since she had to keep up her grades to stay in school, and she had to stay in school to stay with Ruby, Yang fought for B's. It was hard, but Blake was willing to help.

Yang opened up one of her books, and started to slowly comb through it. She picked out the important pieces of knowledge, and marked it down. She did this for about 20 minutes before everything was marked.

"That was easy," Yang said easily. "Man, I should study more."

"No you shouldn't," Blake contributed. Yang smiled, and rolled over. "So Yang," Blake started. "How're you doing?"

"Just fine pussy cat," Yang teased. "Just fine."

"Yang," Blake said, her voice completely monotone. "You have to talk." Yang leaned up, and looked over at Blake.

"About what?" Yang tried. Blake finally stood up and walked over to Yang's bed. She sat down besides Yang, and stared her in the eyes.

"Your sister has been a complete mess these past few months," Blake started. "She's killed, had Onyx toy with her, her secret's been revealed, and her past exposed. Each time Ruby breaks down, she turns to you. I get it, you want to be there for your sister. Even more so, I understand that you have to do so. Ruby has no one else to turn too, so she turns to the only person that she knows that she can. But Yang, you're not made of steel. You're not invulnerable and I'm not Ruby. You can break down."

"Blake," Yang said. "Look, it hurts to have Ruby be hurt so often. But I've grown to adapt to it. Believe me, I'm fine."

"Stop with the stoic bullshit," Blake said. "Everyone needs to break down. It's not natural not to feel at all." That did it. Hearing those words brought Yang to a point that she reached so soon, that it felt irrational.

"Not to feel at all?" Yang said angrily. Her temperature started to rise almost instantly, and her eyes began to flicker between lilac and red. "Are you saying that I don't feel? I am watching my sister be torn to pieces everyday by herself. Every time that something happens, it's not her it's Onyx. Every, single, fucking, day that damn thing goes in and makes my sister feel like shit. And you're saying I don't feel? I hurt every damn time Blake." Yang felt her speech break, and she tried to shake it off. "I hurt always. It... It... It doesn't get easier." Yang finally came to a dead stop. All of the heat disappeared, and her eyes came crashing down form red to lilac.

Yang finally grabbed onto Blake's shoulders, and let her head hang.

"It hurts so much," Yang said, tears forming in her eyes. "I just feel so helpless. Ruby's being torn apart on the inside, and it's the one thing I can't ever protect her from." Blake held Yang in a hug, and started to rub her back. That was the last straw for Yang. Her strong will finally broke, and she started to cry.

"It's okay Yang," Blake said. "It's okay. Let it all out." Yang continued to sob, and finally laid down in Blake's lap. Yang didn't talk, just cried. Years and years of emotional heartbreak had finally done it. But, as far as Blake and Yang was concerned, it was better to do it now rather then when Ruby needed her. And no matter what Yang said, Blake knew that it wasn't going to take much more to get the blonde to break.

After a few more minutes of that, Blake patted Yang on the back.

"We should get you cleaned up," Blake said. "A nice and warm shower will do you wonders right now." Yang nodded, and let Blake help her up. The Faunus slowly dragged her over, and lead her into the bathroom. Blake turned to leave, but Yang put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why're you doing this?" Yang asked.

"We all have to play a part," Blake said simply. "We're a team." Yang paused for a long time, and then smiled at Blake.

"Thank you," Yang said softly.

"Any time," Blake replied in an equally soft tone. Blake finally closed the door, and Yang got into the shower. The Faunus just slid down the door, and sighed. It was going to be a rough four years.

_Ruby and Weiss_

The bell finally rung, and both girls stood up to leave. Ruby couldn't get out of there fast enough. Almost everyone took an odd glance at Ruby, and she knew why. The stories of her ripping Grimm to pieces, what she did to CRDL, and suddenly she was sick enough to stay out of class. No one picked Ruby for one to get a cold and stay in the dorm, so it had to be serious.

Ruby didn't like the looks. They reminded her of what remained beneath the mask. It made things difficult, very difficult. Ruby had to try to leave as soon as possible, but it seemed as though fate wasn't on her side.

"Ms. Rose," the professor, an inspired man by the name of Peach, called out. "If you would please stay here for a moment, I wish to discuss an assignment."

"Oh," Ruby said, slightly crushed. "Okay." Weiss rubbed Ruby's arm, and looked her in the eye.

"I'll be right outside," Weiss reassured her. She left the room, and Ruby waited for the rest of the students to clear out. Peach leaned on his desk, and looked the younger girl down.

"So what'd you want to talk about?" Ruby asked casually.

"I wanted to talk about your Nature and Grimm paper," Peach said. Ruby paused for a moment to search for it, but then remembered that she had turned in the paper earlier in the week.

"What about it?" Ruby asked.

"Don't get me wrong, Ms. Rose, it was remarkable. But, I'm not so sure as to how exactly you were able to write the way you did. You perfectly tied your subject Grimm, a Beowolf, to the environment preferences. You brought up some really amazing points, things that I would expect from a straight A student. Except for one thing, you're not a straight A student. You're perfectly capable in the classroom, but you're not at the level that some of the other people are. So how was it that you were able to do this?"

"I know this subject well, I guess?" Ruby said, shrugging off the question. Peach nodded, and looked over at Ruby.

"Be sure to cover the assigned readings," Peach said. Ruby nodded, and waved goodbye to the professor. As soon as she got outside, Ruby breathed a sigh of relief.

Weiss saw Ruby, and walked over to her. The heiress didn't say a word, just raised her eyebrow.

"He wanted to go over my assignment," Ruby said. "Said I did too good on it." Weiss just nodded, and started to walk back towards the dorm. After a little while, Weiss watched Peach close the door behind them. Instantly, Weiss put her hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Hang on for a minute," Weiss said. Ruby turned back towards Weiss, and sighed.

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Ruby asked.

"What?" Weiss asked in a horrified tone. "No! I just wanted to clarify something with you."

"Here?" Ruby asked. "Without Yang?"

"I don't think you'll need Yang," Weiss said softly. "I just wanted to tell you what I meant when I said that I loved you." Ruby felt her heart drop, and her face started to heat up.

"Here?" Ruby repeated.

"Ruby," Weiss said, keeping up a softer tone that she had heard Yang use. "It seems hard to believe that I could love you, just because you always kept your distance. But, you always seemed so lonely. And I guess that was just something I felt with you. I talked to you and realized that you were lonely, but you were also very sweet and you wanted friends." Ruby nodded, and choked back a tear. But for once, it was a happy tear.

"Okay," Ruby said. She just kept walking, and didn't want to talk about it more. Onyx had been good that day, but Ruby wasn't ready to push her luck.

Not in the slightest.

**End: Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	11. Deeper

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 11: Deeper

**Thank you to everyone for getting me over 50 favorites and 70 followers! As always, your reviews sometimes state exactly what it is that I have planned and I simply laugh. Here's one thing though, there will be a line at some point in this chapter. I never use them, but when you see this line something fairly twisted will happen. There will be a line after that line as well, and that'll be the mark of what to skip if you want to. Let's resume, shall we?**

Professor Peach graded his last paper, and sighed. Three students had flunked {they would be getting a good lecture the next day}, forty three had passed, seven had gotten an A, but only one had gotten a perfect grade. Normally, Peach didn't question his students, but this was one thing that he couldn't ignore.

Ruby Rose was the one who had received the perfect marks. She was normally a B student, which wasn't bad at all. But Ozpin had given all of the teachers a warning on the first day.

_Ruby Rose is hiding something, _Ozpin had said. _I do not want you to push her for this information, as it is not our place. But if anything falls out of line with her profile, then I want you to inform me of what that is._

Peach set the paper aside, and frowned. When he had asked Ruby how she had this knowledge, she dodged around that question. Something was off, and that meant that Peach had already contacted Ozpin.

"Peach!" Someone said from the front of his office. The professor looked up, and smiled.

"Ozpin, my friend," Peach greeted. "Welcome, welcome." The headmaster pulled up a chair, and sat down across from Peach.

"We both know why I'm here," Ozpin said instantly. "So let's not beat around the bush any longer."

"Of course," Peach said. "Ms. Rose managed to score perfect on a paper of mine. After talking with Port, it seems as though this girl has a knack for Grimm knowledge. Yet, according to our libraries and study halls, the girl has never once checked out a book about Grimm. The knowledge she posses are not things that'd exist in books that we give out to the students. Hell, some of this stuff I didn't even know and I teach here!" Ozpin nodded, and sipped at his coffee.

"Are you sure this is not just one particular nitch?" Ozpin asked. "This is her thing."

"It's entirely possible," Peach continued. "As a matter of fact, I'm tempted to put it down as that. But there is something not quite right with that girl. She seems different, in both good and bad ways. The rumors that float around about her are ridiculous, but the truth is simply horrifying. I understand that CRDL wasn't exactly the best of fighters, but but what she did to them shouldn't be possible."

"What are you saying?" Ozpin asked.

"I'm saying that Ruby Rose is different," Peach continued. "She is the best fighter here, and a mediocre student outside of the realm of Grimm. But yet, half of the time she is a bright and bubbly student who is full of happiness and a childish innocence. When I watch footage of her from the Emerald Forest, I see a cold blooded killer who hungers for blood. What she did to those Grimm, well it wasn't her. Her eyes weren't even the same color. So I simply pose this question, how?"

"The answer is simple," Ozpin continued. "The mask, and most likely her gloves. She never goes without them. Qrow will give me no information on her. While I normally try to remain a safe distance from a student, for their sake, this time it concerns everyone's safety. I have a new assignment for every student that I want issued tomorrow. Glynda will be in charge of Ruby's, since she is the only one I trust enough to do so. Are we clear?" Peach nodded. "Good. I will visit again soon if you come up with any ideas." Ozpin rose to his feet, and turned to leave, leaving Peach alone with his thoughts and a bio on one very dangerous girl.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

Ruby lay awake in her bed. Her day had been filled with questions and excitement, but no Onyx. Her other side had remained silent throughout the entire endeavor. But there was one place that no matter what, Ruby knew she would never be left alone. Her dreams.

All that stood between her and peace was a few hours of sleep. That knowledge alone was enough to remind her that she was not going to be getting peace. Making peace would never work. Ruby couldn't fight it forever, so she just gave into the exhaustion.

Ruby's eyes opened again, and she looked around her. The same snow covered forest rested around her, giving off that same eerie feeling that it always did.

"Onyx," Ruby called out. "Onyx, please, where are you?"

"Here, my love," a voice said. Ruby turned around, and saw Onyx resting behind her. It's mask was off, revealing a burnt and fur covered face. It's gloves were also off, showing off two arms covered in burns and fur. This was an unusual appearance by her other side.

"Why are you so exposed?" Ruby asked.

"Does this bother you?" Onyx asked. Ruby shook her head. "There's your answer. It appears that the girl in white has started to show you how you can trust others. This may become very troublesome in the future."

"I trust Weiss," Ruby said firmly.

"Why is that, my flower? Onyx asked. "Because she said that she loved you? Are you so blindly willing to trust everyone who claims to love you?"

"That's a trustful word," Ruby said quietly.

"Which is why people would manipulate it!" Onyx replied angrily. "There are those who want to hurt you and use you for me and what-."

"How do I know you're not doing the same thing?" Ruby snapped. "How do I know that you're not saying you love me just so that you can use my body?!"

"You don't," Onyx replied cruelly. "You had no idea if I am twisting your thoughts to match what I want, but there is a difference between myself and the frozen girl. You are forced to live with me, she is expendable."

"You aren't killing Weiss," Ruby said. She started to walk towards Onyx, but her knees gave out halfway there. She fell down, and put her hands on the ground to steady herself.

"How will you stop me?" Onyx asked. "I killed Cardin, I've killed Grimm, I taught myself to speak with your voice, I was nothing but experimental before you came along." Onyx pulled something out of it's torn up cloak, and looked at it carefully. It was a gray cylinder tube that had a small mark on it's side. "Do you know what this is?" Onyx asked. Ruby shook her head.

"You were grown from within that woman," Onyx said. "Summer, terribly sorry about that again. But I was born in here. I grew slowly as nothing more then blood. When that factory exploded, I was set free. The flames carried me into the air, and I would have died. Yet I found you. From then on out, I became a piece of you. Learning was easy, it was getting you to learn that was hard."

"Stop," Ruby said quietly.

"Look at yourself!" Onyx ordered. It lifted Ruby to her feet, and spun her around. To satisfy it's needs, a mirror had materialized just in front of Ruby. "I see a girl who is too sweet to harm a fly. I know this isn't true, because I know you. Now look at me." Ruby looked back at Onyx's face, and it just held her there. "I am everything you're not. So tell me my flower, who needs who?"

"I need-."

"WRONG!" Onyx yelled, causing Ruby to flinch. "We need each other. Our relationship is mutual in every sense of the word. I need your body, you need my mind. That is just one way. Tell me, how else do we need each other?"

"You need me to keep you at bay and I need you to deal with bad people," Ruby muttered.

"Correct," Onyx said, completely satisfied. "Now, let me show you more." Onyx flexed one claw, and ran it along the front of Ruby's skirt. She tried to tell it to stop, but she couldn't. Soon, Onyx ripped off the torn fabric from Ruby's front, and everything came with it. Ruby was left completely nude, and that mirror was still in front of her.

"Time to really begin," Onyx said coldly.

* * *

It started to kiss at Ruby's neck, causing the younger girl to tense up slightly. She tried to will herself to bring Onyx to stop, but she couldn't. No matter what she did, Onyx kept coming at her.

It held it's hands out straight, and brought them around to Ruby's breasts. The younger girl became very stiff, and Onyx finally let up on her neck.

"Calm down my flower," Onyx whispered in a voice that was as seductive as it could be. "This will feel good." Ruby whimpered as Onyx started to massage her breasts as roughly as possible. Ruby let out an odd noise, and Onyx just kept going. It massaged faster and faster, while increasing how rough it was being with every go. Soon it became more painful then pleasurable for Ruby. At that point, Onyx stopped. Ruby opened her mouth to say thank you, but she was pushed to the ground.

Onyx crawled over her body, and planted a kiss on her lips. It then lowered both of it's hands towards Ruby's thighs, and spread them apart. Ruby tried to fight it, but Onyx was strong, much stronger then Ruby. She eventually felt herself succumb to Onyx's strength, and it then cruelly raised up three fingers. Without another thought, it plunged it's fingers into Ruby's core.

Ruby instantly wailed in pain. Onyx hadn't been gentled. It had used three of it's fingers, which was too much for Ruby, she was only 15 years old. She began to bleed, her body completely unused to the new feeling. Onyx started to pump it's hand, starting out slowly but then turning to going faster. Ruby wailed in pain, but Onyx didn't stop. It went faster, and faster, and faster, until Ruby's body finally gave way. Fluids released from her, her climax having been reached too many times for her not too at that point, and Onyx dropped her naked and beaten body on the ground.

* * *

Onyx started to walk away, but took one last look at Ruby.

"You're going to wake up now," Onyx said. "And you'll see my gift is more then just here." Ruby whimpered on the ground. Bruises had already began to form around her neck and chest, with the rest of her body following shortly. Legs, arms, seemingly everywhere.

Ruby felt her eyes finally snap awake, and she tried to turn over. Ruby felt her body ache, forcing her to stop. She finally held her hand up to her neck, and felt over it. Ruby could feel the bruising, and she looked down at her body. Every piece of her that was bruised in her dreams was bruised then, but Ruby noticed two more things. Her right glove was off of her hand, and her hand glistened with blood coating three of her fingers. Down by her thighs rested a small puddle with much blood, and Ruby realized that what Onyx had done to her in her dreams it had also done to her in reality.

Ruby felt herself freeze, and she fell back in her bed. She did the only thing that she could think to do, knowing that Onyx had taken away another piece of innocence from her. Ruby cried.

Her team had already woken up from Ruby's wails. Their leader had started to call out in her sleep, forcing them all to awake. They couldn't see anything underneath a flurry of movement and covers, but whatever had happened they had only caught the end of. Yang was hesitant to move towards Ruby since she was thrashing about so badly. But once Ruby had started to cry, Yang knew that it was her time to jump in.

She wrapped her arms around her sister, and pulled Ruby in close.

"Sh, sh, sh," Yang whispered. "It's okay, it's okay. What happened?" Ruby was crying so much that her tears clogged her throat. Instead, Ruby pointed to her neck, breasts, and legs. Yang reluctantly looked at them, but she saw how badly Ruby was bruised. "Oh my god Ruby," Yang muttered. Ruby kept crying, and put her arm around Yang. "What about your other hand?" Yang asked.

Ruby slowly held her right hand up, and let Yang look at it. Ruby then pointed down, and Yang's eyes widened. She saw the puddle, and knew precisely what it was. The blood on Ruby's hand and down low confirmed something else in her mind.

"It took it from me," Ruby finally managed. "Onyx took it from me." Yang pulled Ruby in close, and felt her heart shatter. This was one of the last pure things that Onyx had been unable to touch with Ruby, but it had just taken it away from her.

"I've got you now," Yang whispered calmly. "I've got you, okay?" Ruby nodded, and managed to sniff an okay.

"Stop it Yang," Ruby cried. "Please, just stop it."

"I wish I could," Yang managed. Her own throat was closing up, this being one of the last things that she could endure personally. Weiss noticed this, and walked slowly over to the two girls. She hesitantly put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, and looked at the younger girl.

"We're all here," Weiss said. "Yang, Blake, and myself. We'll all help you." Without another word, Blake walked over to the rest of them. Ruby finally wrapped all of them in a hug, and continued to cry.

She cried, and cried, and cried, until she couldn't cry. Then she let out noises that sounded like she was in pain, and then she was forced to stop.

"Shower," was the only thing that Ruby could stay. "Yang, can you take me to the shower?" The presence of the other two teammates had calmed Yang down more so then Ruby, and she just smiled to her younger sister.

"Of course," Yang said. Yang helped Ruby to her feet, and slowly aided her along to the shower. Ruby walked awkwardly and winced with every step, causing Yang to internally flinch every time she took a step. It was a further reminder of what Onyx had done. If Onyx wasn't Ruby, it would be dead. Yang's fury would have been more then enough to kill it. But it was, and so Yang could do nothing but watch.

Yang helped Ruby undress, and assisted her younger sister in showering. She held her the whole time, and washed her as well. Yang had been extra delicate, but had to apply a little bit of pressure to get rid of the blood. For some reason, Ruby's aura couldn't heal her bruises. It was most likely because Onyx didn't want her bruises healed, but Yang could only guess.

After that, Yang clothed her sister and brought her back into the dorm. She sat Ruby down, and rubbed her back gently.

"I'll sleep with you tonight," Yang reassured her. "I'll make it can't do this again." Ruby nodded, and leaned her head on Yang's shoulder.

"Do we have any classes?" Ruby asked sadly.

"Aura training with Goodwitch," Yang replied. "I'll call in that you're-."

"No," Ruby said. "No, I think I can do this. It'll be good, a distraction." Yang nodded, and patted her sister on the back lightly.

"We'd better get going then," Yang said. "If not, then we'll be late. We really don't want to be late to Goodwitch's class. I don't care if she's a good witch, she's harsh." Ruby smiled, and stood up. Her body still hurt, but she could deal with it for now. The key words being for now. Otherwise, Ruby really didn't know what this class would bring her. But at the very least, a distraction might be nice.

_Aura Training_

Ruby took a seat in the stands in the middle of her teammates. Her right eye was splashed with a hint of red, but enough time had passed to where Ruby could pass it off as something apart from crying. She couldn't show any weakness, because she didn't need to give a reason for other students to come after her. Ruby didn't want Onyx to kill anyone else.

"Welcome class," professor Goodwitch greeted. "Today is going to be a little bit different, so my apologies in advance." Everyone started to talk amongst each other, and Goodwitch simple cleared her throat loudly. Everyone instantly quieted down, and she nodded in satisfaction. "Today we will be going about testing you on Grimm."

"I thought this was an aura class?" One of the students.

"It is," Goodwitch continued. "But Ozpin has requested that I administer these tests to all of you. I cannot tell you why, but I can wish you good luck." With that, multiple papers floated down to the students, and they all just looked over it carefully.

Ruby pulled out her pencil, and started to work at the test. It was relatively easy, nothing that Onyx hadn't already shown her. But just knowing that this wasn't about Onyx itself was good. She finished up almost all of it faster then any other student, as a matter of fact Ruby took a small break just before the last question. She returned to her paper, and read over it. It caused her to freeze for a moment, and she took a deep breath in.

_Why does a Grimm kill?_

Ruby jotted down her answer, and set aside the paper.

_Easy points, _Ruby thought. _Easy, easy points._

_Do I gain any points? _A cruel voice said. Ruby shook her head, and started to breathe deeply.

After a 10 minutes, the everyone else had finished up their assignments as well. Goodwitch collected all of them, and set them down on her desk.

"That'll be all for today," she said. "Class will be cut a little short due to some meetings. Enjoy the rest of your day." All of the students mumbled out some kind of a reply, and made their way towards the exit. Goodwitch looked down at the papers, and found the one marked _Ruby Rose. _She lifted it up, and read over the answer to the last question.

_They crave the blood, and they crave death._

**End: Here's my story rotation, for those of you wondering. Price of Living, A Harsh Reality, What Good is Love?, Broken Apart, Two Sides to a Coin. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is always appreciated. **


	12. Support

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 12: Support

**Well, that went about as well as I expected. Who's ready for another Onyx x Ruby scene? I'm an asshole... But I will say this, there will be no more A/N notices about the twisted scenes. All I will do is leave those two lines, so just be ready to skip those if you see them again. Revealing that there will be a scene like that ruins part of the fun, wouldn't you agree? Thank you to the wonderful Wendy Crescent who is responsible for the cover of this story. Everyone, give her love because it makes her uncomfortable. Let's begin again.**

Ruby washed off her hands for the third time that night, and wiped off her face. Nothing felt easy to her, nothing at all. Onyx had once again asserted it's dominance. It reminded Ruby that anything pure in her life, it could easily take away.

She looked down at her right hand, and shuddered. What it had done to her... That couldn't be undone. It didn't matter who came next, if anyone came next, Ruby will have lost her purity to the monster living in her head. Worse off, she had lost it forcibly.

To make matters even worse, there was the test. It had that one question, the question that Ruby answered truthfully without thinking. After being given more time to ponder it, everything seemed to suspicious. Peach pulls her aside, Goodwitch hands out a surprise test that Ozpin had issued, and it's all about Grimm. Ruby wasn't sure what to think, but she knew what she feared.

_Kill Ozpin and word doesn't travel, _Onyx said.

"No!" Ruby snapped. "I won't let you kill anyone else, or hurt anyone else."

_Then you'll become my punching bag, _Onyx hissed. _I'll simply relieve myself on your body. I can do so many things to you, as I have only taken your purity._

"No," Ruby said as she backed up. "No, I won't let you. I'll kill Grimm, just no more of that."

_When will you learn, child? _Onyx asked cruelly. _I can be fed as many substitutes as you please, but eventually I crave more. A Beowolf doesn't kill it's share, it kills the largest share. I will always need a larger share._

"I'll stop you," Ruby muttered. "I swear to you, I'll stop you." Ruby heard a soft knock on the door, and she froze for a moment.

"Ruby?" Yang called in. "Are you alright?"

"F-f-f-fine Yang," Ruby managed.

_Hm, your cousin, _Onyx purred.

"Sister, she's my sister," Ruby replied.

_Suit yourself, give her whatever title you so choose. But she is quite a prize. If only I could just get my hands on her, I would be able to do-._

"No!" Ruby said sharply. "Not my sister, no one that I love. You will never touch those that I love!"

"Ruby, Blake and I are going to get something to eat," Yang called in. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Totally fine," Ruby called back reassuringly.

"Okay," Yang replied skeptically. She left the dorm, and Ruby just stared at her reflection.

_Look at me, _Onyx growled. _I am the horrible thing that you were told stories about when you were a mere baby. Now I am you, and I have killed the story crafter. Yet, I continue to do things to protect you. Why is it that you don't wish to give me small favors in exchange for my protection, my flower?_

"RAAAAAA!" Ruby yelled. She swung her bare fist into the mirror, and watched it shatter. She froze, and stepped away from it. Onyx's voice was gone, but Ruby had just done something out of anger. A move like that was never done by her, only Onyx. It was getting to her.

_I can't let it, _Ruby thought. _I can't let it run through my head. I can't let it go freely. I can't-. _The door suddenly opened, and Weiss looked at Ruby carefully. She then observed the broken glass everywhere, and saw that Ruby had her gloves and mask off.

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

"I-I-I," Ruby stuttered. "Onyx, it got in my head, and then I punched the mirror, and no, no, no, no!" Ruby collapsed to the ground, and looked like she was on the brink of tears. "Ozpin'll find out," Ruby said as she choked back a sob. "Then everyone'll know." Weiss looked at the girl on the ground, and sighed. Ruby was so broken, so battered, so mislead. Weiss had to help.

She calmly raised up her hand, and every piece of glass was suddenly supported by a glyph. All of them started to rise, and the mirror reassembled. All of the pieces were still broken, but they were all in the right space. Weiss' brow was furrowed in concentration, but then she seemed to let up. With her free left hand, she swung a punch as hard as she could into the mirror. It once again shattered, but this time Weiss let out a small yelp of pain.

"Weiss, no!" Ruby said instantly. She hadn't realized what the heiress had actually planned on doing until it was too late to stop her.

"Now Ozpin'll think it was me," Weiss said calmly. She flexed around her hand, and her aura made all of the cuts into scratches. "That hurt, so try not to break anymore mirrors."

"Weiss, you didn't have too," Ruby tried. Weiss held up her hand, and pointed at Ruby's hands. Ruby looked down at them, and noticed what Weiss had.

"No marks," Weiss finally said. "Ozpin would want to see them. It's okay Ruby, I'm here to help you." Weiss put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, and Ruby smiled at her partner. Ruby reached out for her mask, but Weiss lightly put an arm on hers.

"Leave it off for now, okay?" Weiss asked. Ruby nodded, and let her hand drop down to her side. Weiss stared her in the eyes, and carefully inspected her face. It was burned, covered in spotty fur, and scarred. Everything about it should have screamed, _monster. _But all Weiss could think of was one word, _helpless._

"I should call Ozpin," Weiss said as she realized she had stared for too long.

"O-o-o-okay," Ruby managed. Weiss walked off, and left Ruby alone with her thoughts.

Ruby picked up the half mask, and stared directly at it. What Onyx had just done was talk and let Ruby act. It was moving in closer to her, making Ruby feel more afraid. That one lashing out didn't feel like it was enough, which started to scare her. Were the lines melding? Seven years she had held them together, but now the lines were moving closer and closer together.

But what Weiss had just done was more shocking. She had hurt herself for Ruby. Weiss Schnee, the perfect ice princess, had just damaged her body for Ruby. That showed a side of Weiss that Ruby had never seen, a supportive side like Yang had. It was a side that made Ruby feel more welcome, but filled her with dread. Yang and Qrow were the only two people she could convince Onyx not to kill, not Weiss.

_A Little While Later_

Getting the mirror replaced was simple. Weiss had prepared a story to feed them, and she had showed off her arm. When Yang and Blake returned, Weiss explained to them what had happened. Yang instantly made sure that Ruby was okay, and Ruby reassured her that Onyx had just wanted her to break the mirror. After that, Ruby just tried to go to sleep in Yang's arms. The blonde was very careful about the fact that Ruby was held in a bear hug, just to ensure that she wouldn't do anything while sleeping.

"Night Ruby," Yang said softly.

"Night Yang," Ruby replied. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Yang replied. "You did nothing wrong." Ruby blinked back a tear, and just thought one line to herself.

_I wish that were true._

_Ruby's Dream_

Ruby found herself in the same snow covered forest that she always did. Despite how horrible the things that had happened here were, it was beginning to hold an odd feeling of comfort for Ruby. She knew the landscape so well, that she could draw a map. Most trees were familiar, and that familiarity brought comfort.

"Ruby," a single voice said. Ruby turned around, and saw Onyx standing there. The mask and gloves remained off, and the combat skirt remained torn.

"Stay away," Ruby ordered.

"We both know that this isn't possible," Onyx added in calmly. "Is it a crime to wish to speak with the other presence that exists in my life?"

"Yes," Ruby replied harshly. Onyx laughed, and then calmly sat down.

"Is this about last night?" It asked calmly.

"You raped me!" Ruby shouted. "You hurt me in a way that I didn't think you could." Ruby blinked back another tear, but saw Onyx shaking it's head.

"If it were rape I wouldn't have been able to do it," Onyx said coldly. "I am merely existing in _your _mind, remember? If you didn't want it, then you would have stopped me."

"I tried to stop y-."

"No you didn't," Onyx snapped back. "I didn't feel any resistance, only your body growing limp from excitement. I know, it may have hurt a little bit, my apologies for my hands. But, you know it felt good. Why else would I have enjoyed your personal nectar?" Onyx smiled, and Ruby started to sink to the ground. "Now tell me, who in Beacon do you want?" Onyx asked.

"Wh-wh-what?" Ruby stuttered.

"I thought the question was simple," Onyx replied. "I know you crave more, my flower. I have given you a taste of what you can have, and you want more. Don't even try to deny me, I am in your head." Ruby felt her throat go dry at Onyx's words. "Is it Blake?" It continued. An image of Blake lying in her bed appeared, and Onyx circled around her shape. "Oh yes, she's quite beautiful. She would make for a fine snack." It laughed coldly, but then pushed away the image.

"Maybe a little bit more adventurous?" It asked. "What about Glynda Goodwitch?" The form of Glynda teaching appeared, and Onyx slowly ran it's hands through the images hair. "A bigger challenge," it continued. "Or perhaps, just another team. Like Pyrrha Nikos?" The form of Pyrrha sleeping appeared, and Onyx slowly felt over her.

_I've never seen Pyrrha sleeping, _Ruby thought.

"Or perhaps it is Weiss," Onyx continued. The form of Weiss sleeping appeared, and Onyx very gently brushed back her hair. "Such a delicate body. No, she wouldn't last. Maybe it's the one you treasure most." Yang's form appeared, and Ruby could feel the air grow heavier. "Such a rare beauty she is. Yes, it is her. I can feel it inside of you. There is some doubt as to whether you're really related, or if Qrow was merely a friend of your mother."

"Stop," Ruby muttered. Onyx smiled, and backed away.

"As you wish, my rose," it said coldly. "But be warned, one day I will want a prize. The payment will either be required in blood or in love, so I suggest you pick one and prepare it for me."

"N-n-n-no," Ruby managed.

"Then you will pay." Onyx calmly flicked out one of it's claws, and started to walk towards Ruby.

Instantly she shot awake. Sweat covered her body, and she was panting heavily. The violent reaction stirred Yang, and she instantly put her arms around Ruby.

"Hey, hey, hey," Yang whispered softly. "What's wrong?" Ruby shook her head, but Yang pulled Ruby closer. "Tell me."

"Onyx," Ruby said sadly. "It told me things. It wanted to do things, horrible things to people."

"People?" Yang asked. She knew that who may be in danger was the only thing Ruby would answer. She rarely spoke of what the things were.

"Blake," Ruby said sadly. "Ms. Goodwitch, Pyrrha, Weiss, and-." Ruby froze, and looked her sister in the eyes. "And you." Yang hesitated, but continued to hold her.

"Don't worry about your big sister," Yang reassured her. "Onyx isn't going to kill me."

"It doesn't want that," Ruby said quietly. "It wants to do what it did to me to you." Yang paused again, but then continued to rock Ruby.

"Then even fewer worries," Yang said. "Hey, we've got this. We've kept Onyx at bay for this long, haven't we?" Ruby nodded, but she still felt scared. Onyx had done so much damage in the recent years, that it was hard for Ruby to remain optimistic that maybe, just maybe, Onyx would leave her alone.

They heard a knock at the door, and Yang looked at the time in confusion. She looked over, and saw Blake wordlessly get up to answer it. She opened up the door, and froze for a moment, but then widened the door. Professor Goodwitch stepped into the room, and looked over at Ruby in Yang's arms.

"Sisters will be sisters," Goodwitch said happily. "Ms. Rose, Professor Ozpin has requested that you come and speak to him." Ruby nodded, and went to stand up. Yang started to rise with her, but Goodwitch shook her head. "Alone."

"Alone?" Ruby asked fearfully.

"Hey, what has my sister done wrong?" Yang asked.

"Nothing," Goodwitch replied.

"Then why can't I go with her?" Yang challenged.

"You must understand, Ms. Xiao Long, sometimes we must do things independent of the overall teams. In this instance, Professor Ozpin only has a few questions for Ruby." Yang raised her hand to protest more, but Ruby grabbed it.

"It's okay Yang," Ruby said reassuringly. "I'll be fine. Should I go now?"

"Unless you would like to change," Goodwitch said. Ruby just shrugged, and threw on some slippers.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" Ruby said.

"Bye Ruby," Yang said. "I love you."

"I love you too Yang." Ruby and Goodwitch exited, and the door closed firmly behind them.

As soon as it did, Yang let the fear and dread that she had felt before come pouring out of her, and she burst into tears. Blake rushed over, and carefully scooped the broken blonde in her arms.

"Sh, sh, sh," Blake whispered. "It'll be okay. Ruby'll be fine."

"If they know, she might be expelled," Yang cried. "If they know, everyone knows. What'll they do to Ruby then?" Blake calmly wrapped her partner up in a hug, and slowly floated down to the bed next to them.

"I don't know," Blake said. "But I do know that I won't let anything happen to her, okay?" Yang nodded, and buried her head into Blake's hair. With one more breath, she let out a massive wail before collapsing on the bed.

_Ruby_

She walked down the halls nervously. Goodwitch had lead her down every turn carefully, almost as though making sure no one else saw them. But Ruby dreaded what waited at the end of the visit. Ruby knew that Yang couldn't take Goodwitch in a fight, and Ruby knew that if she hadn't acted confident that's exactly what Yang would have done. But inside, Ruby felt every bit as awful as Yang did.

"Here we are," Goodwitch finally said. She calmly opened up the door to Ozpin's office, and guided Ruby inside. Ruby nervously took a seat on one side of a table, and waited. She saw Goodwitch close the door and raise a glyph, while she also noticed Peach standing in the corner with his lance nearby. Only one person was missing from the occasion.

"Ruby Rose," someone finally said. Ruby turned her head to the left, and watched the headmaster of Beacon walk into the room. He took a seat across from her, and looked straight at her. "You have silver eyes?"

"H-h-h-huh?" Ruby managed.

"You have silver eyes?" He repeated. "I can see one, but are both silver?" Ruby shook her head, and Ozpin leaned back. "I suppose you wonder why I called you in here today." Ruby nodded. "Well, it is a relatively simple affair. That test I had specially given out yesterday, you aced it with all of the bonus questions." Ruby smiled to herself, but Ozpin held up a hand. "The only person to do so, because you got the last bonus correct and no one else did." Ruby froze, and she could feel her heart drop. In her head, she could already feel Onyx fighting to come out.

"I-I-I-I studied," Ruby replied.

"Really?" Ozpin asked, clearly amused. "With what? The generic text books we gave you? A book that not even Pyrrha knows about? What, Ms. Rose?"

"B-b-b-b-book," Ruby added in.

"So I see," Ozpin said. "Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. You have made quite a name for yourself already. Those outside of the school are calling you the half-faced terror."

_I like this name, _Onyx said. _Half-faced does make us sound like we're hindered though._

"I would like to know how you are able to do this," Ozpin said. "But, I do believe I know. The idea is something of the likes I have never seen before, but if it is correct then I will do everything in my power to support you and protect you."

"Y-y-y-y-you will?" Ruby stuttered.

"Qrow and Summer were old friends," Ozpin said distantly. "As Summer's daughter and Qrow's niece, you are someone with whom I wish to protect. Plus, you seem like a bright young girl who is normally very upbeat and full of positivity. It's just the other side of you, the flip side of the coin if you will, that is nasty. Ruby, you are in no danger here. I trust Peach and Glynda more then anyone else. Please remove your mask and gloves."

_It's a trap, _Onyx warned. _If you do this, you'll have to kill them._

_If I refuse I'll have to kill them, _Ruby thought. _I can maybe avoid death this way._

_You can never avoid death. Death will always follow you, because that is the nature of life. _Ruby ignored Onyx, and slowly removed her mask. She was barely able to take off her gloves, and then she set them down on the table in front of her. Ruby looked up at Ozpin, and saw that his gaze never once wavered.

"A Grimm hybrid," he said softly. "So it is true." He rose to his feet, and grabbed Ruby's mask and gloves. Ruby was about to make a lunge for them, all of her instincts told her too. Even more so, they told her to rip his throat out and ensure that he couldn't talk. She could kill the other two and blame it on a three way fight. But then Ozpin did something her instincts weren't prepared for. He tossed them too her.

"I will do everything for my school first," Ozpin said. "If you ever cross the line and deliberately attack a student with no cause, I will not hesitate to expel you and inform the general public to your condition. But, if you maintain this then I shall let you be."

"Thank you," Ruby said gratefully. A tear formed in her eye. It was relief. The one man who could destroy everything that Ruby was doing, had just given her safe passage. "Thank you so much."

"No need too," Ozpin said. "It is merely my job." Ruby put her mask and gloves back on, and looked at the door. "Yes, you may go now, Ms. Rose." Ruby ran out of the room, and tried to hold back her tears for as long as possible.

"You let her be?" Peach asked. "You're just going to let her roam your school?"

"Have you ever gambled, my friend?" Ozpin asked absently. He began to stare at an old deck of cards that rested on his desk, and finally he picked them up.

"In my younger days, yes," Peach admitted. "But that doesn't-."

"Then you'd know the bigger the risk the bigger the reward," Ozpin continued. "Ruby and, what did you say it's name was?" This last question was directed at Glynda, who had still remained calm and put together.

"Onyx," she said. "She seems to refer to something else in her as Onyx."

"Right," Ozpin said. "Ruby and Onyx represent something major. They are a combination of Grimm and human. They can kill man and beast much more efficiently then any of us ever could hope too. If they turn out more like Ruby, then we will have the greatest hunter to ever live working out in the field."

"And if Onyx wins?" Peach asked.

"May God help us all," Ozpin said easily. "Besides, what good what it do to punish the poor girl? She is already going through more pain now then any of us will ever know."

"And this is because two minds were not meant to live in the same body."

**End: Ozpin is a nasty little gambler. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	13. Analytics

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 13: Analytics

**This story is really coming along, for I must thank all of you for getting me to 60 favorites! I'm pretty happy with it, but let's not keep things in a happy mood for too long. I say we return to the story.**

Yang sat in her bed nervously. She had managed to regain a hold on herself shortly after Ruby had left, but then she just sat on her own bed in anticipation. Fear was a powerful motivator to do things. While Yang didn't know if Onyx could take on Ozpin himself, she knew that it certainly may try. If that were to happen, at best Ruby would be expelled for killing the headmaster. At worst... Yang would lose her baby sister.

"Calm down Yang," Blake said, trying her best to mimic the tone that Yang so often used on Ruby.

"Why?" Yang asked. "Ruby could never return, you know that right?" Blake nodded, and Yang continued to rub her legs nervously. "I don't know if I want to wait here."

"If you go, everything's over," Weiss finally said. "I want to help Ruby right now too, but I have no choice. I know if I were to act on an impulse, then more questions would be raised." Weiss leaned back in her bed, and stared at the door. Yang followed her lead, and both of them waited.

Neither of them waited for very long, because the door opened up shortly after. Ruby walked in, and she had a huge smile on her face.

"What happened?" Yang asked instantly. She instinctively hugged Ruby before she could answer, just to make sure that it was Ruby.

"Ozpin knows," Ruby said slowly. "He connected the dots, but I get safe passage."

"What?" Weiss asked, her eyes going completely shocked.

"I don't know why," Ruby continued. "But I won't question it." Yang hugged Ruby even harder, and made a small sound of happiness. "You're choking me," Ruby whispered. Yang set Ruby down, and sighed happily.

"Free passage from Ozpin is the best news we've gotten," Yang said. She was fighting back tears, but they were happy tears. For once, Yang was fighting back tears of happiness. "We don't have to be as careful about him anymore." Ruby nodded, and hugged her sister back. It was the first time in a very long time that the sisters had been treated to good news.

The day carried on in peace. Ruby spent time with her team, and all of them had enjoyed the day. It was a weird time where everything had lined up to where they only had one class. Even stranger was that Professor Oobleck had been reported as very ill, so that one class had been canceled. Sometimes, days just went just as they were supposed to.

Ruby sat down on her bed, and slowly rubbed her mask. Some days it was hard to keep wearing it. Her face wasn't delicate, but the old scars sometimes felt odd against the cold steel.

"Mind if I sit here?" Someone said. Ruby looked up, and saw her sister standing over her. Ruby nodded, and Yang dropped down next to her. "What a day," Yang said softly.

"No kidding," Ruby said. "Since I got into Beacon, this is really the first good news we've gotten. Onyx has been quiet." Ruby sighed, and took her mask off. "But my face has been hurting." She rubbed around her face carefully, and put her mask on the bed stand.

"I have to ask you a question," Yang whispered. "Last night, you said that Onyx wanted to... Do to us what it did to you. What exactly do you mean?" Ruby's expression changed, and she sighed.

"I don't know," Ruby whispered. "I know it wants to... I know it wants to have sex with you, but I don't..." Ruby shook her head, and Yang started to rub her shoulders.

"Sh, it's okay," Yang said. "You don't-."

"I don't know if it was rape," Ruby finally said. Yang fell dead silent, and looked at her sister. Ruby's eyes remained the differing colors, and neither of them showed any signs of tears. "Onyx talked to me... I really don't know if it was rape."

"You can't listen to what it says," Yang said. "It's trying to tell you things to keep it's power."

"But what if I wanted it?" Ruby asked. "What if inside of me, I wanted it and Onyx just initiated it?" Yang pulled her sister close, and sighed.

"I don't trust it," Yang said. "I don't trust it at all. I don't think that you wanted this at all. It was rape, you can't trust it."

"I have too," Ruby whispered. "I have to trust it."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do. I can't live without it, so I have to trust it." Ruby sighed, and started to lean back. "I'm going to sleep."

"Night Ruby," Yang said. "I'll stay with you tonight, just in case." Ruby nodded, fully understanding that Yang wasn't going to be leaving her for that night, nor any night in the near future. Ruby closed her eyes, and just fell slowly into sleep.

_Ruby's Dreams_

Her eyes opened again, and she saw the same snowy forest that was always there to greet her. Ruby looked around for Onyx, but saw nothing. Ruby walked over to a tree, and slid down it's trunk. A night off, a night that she may be left alone for a little bit.

She took a look around her, and tried to spot anything different. Instead, it was the same place that she had always been in. Nothing about it was different, which troubled Ruby slightly. If there really was no Onyx, wouldn't she be somewhere else? Ruby shook the thoughts from her mind, and continued to sit there.

It was pleasant to have quiet time. Ruby was so rarely left with silence, that having it was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing stemmed from not having to hear Onyx's voice. The curse stemmed from being left alone, and her being unused to it.

"Onyx," Ruby called out. She had finally had enough, and she rose to her feet. "Onyx, where are you?"

"Calling out for me now, my flower?" A voice echoed. Ruby lifted her hands up to her ears briefly, but lowered them. "Yes, I just wanted to show you what it's like from my end." A sudden wall of black rose petals formed up, and Onyx's shape emerged from the center of them. "I happen to enjoy the theatrics," its said.

"Onyx," Ruby said, holding her arm out in front of her. "What was it?" Onyx raised an eyebrow, and folded it's Beowolf arms. "That night. Was it... Was it what I thought it was? Or was it what you're saying it was?"

"There is one flaw with you Ruby," Onyx said calmly. It walked over to Ruby, and placed it's hands on her shoulders. "You're far too trusting." Ruby's eyes went to horror, and Onyx instantly lifted up it's arms. "It's not this, I swear." Ruby nodded, and felt more relaxed.

"From my perspective, it would do me no good to admit to rape," Onyx began. "If I were to do it, then why would I tell you? If I were not to do it, those around you would never tell you that it was anything but. There is only one person who can tell you the truth, and it is no one you've asked." Onyx disappeared into black petals, and reappeared behind Ruby.

"Me?" Ruby asked, starting to see where Onyx was growing.

"Yes, my flower," Onyx continued. "You. I may be cruel, I may want things that humans would consider to be immoral. However, I do know that if I were to harm you my existence would be damaged. I also know that your trust is leading you to see what isn't there."

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Ozpin," Onyx continued. "You really believe he is doing what he is to help you?" Ruby nodded, and Onyx laughed. "He sees you as an investment. If you turn out how he hopes, he believes that you will be his greatest legacy. You are not a person to him, merely a potential legacy booster."

"That's not true," Ruby said, her voice beginning to shake. "Ozpin would-."

"Ozpin would do something like this," Onyx continued. "All of man wants to criticize Grimm for their nature, but what about you? You seem to enjoy taking what it is that you please, turning people into pet projects, and then continuing to move forward because that's what you accept. Man is such a confusing species, really. However, woman is so much more preferable. Why do you think I didn't give you the option of a man?" Ruby started to back away from Onyx, and her mind began to swirl.

"Stop," Ruby said. Onyx nodded, and faded into black petals. It formed up on a nearby stone, and it just sat patiently. Ruby let her mind calm, and started to walk over to it.

"Tell me, my flower," Onyx said suddenly. Ruby found herself unable to move, and she realized that Onyx was doing this. "Have you realized the truth yet?"

"W-w-w-what?" Ruby asked.

"What was it?" Onyx asked. "Rape, or consensual?" It looked expectingly at Ruby, it's piercing eyes staring deep into Ruby's silver eyes. Ruby searched inside of herself, trying desperately to make sure her thoughts were her own.

"I don't know," Ruby finally said. "I just... I feel one thing and I think another."

"What do you feel?" Onyx asked. It walked over to Ruby, and tilted her head up to meet Onyx's stare, and she felt weak.

"I want to know how it feels," Ruby said.

"But I thought I showed you?" Onyx said.

"No," Ruby said. "I want to know... I want to know how it feels." Onyx nodded, and smiled.

"I have my answer," Onyx said. Ruby sighed, and the hold on her was released. She collapsed to the ground, and her mind swam. The feelings deep within her couldn't be ignored. No matter what she did, no matter how hard she wanted to do good, a beast was still a piece of her. It wasn't all separated into Onyx, it was an integral piece to her. That beast had desires, and those desired couldn't be ignored forever. Onyx had merely acted upon them, leaving Ruby confused.

"I don't understand," Ruby whispered.

"Nor are you intended too," Onyx continued. Black petals formed at Onyx's base, and it smiled. "But time to think may help. I must go for now, our time is up for now."

"Wait!" Ruby cried. "Time to think?"

"I will let you decipher what that means," Onyx said, it's normal cruelty more present then ever. "Just as I have deciphered what you meant."

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

It was fairly early. Almost 10:00, and Weiss was still sleeping. Yang and Blake had to leave for class a while ago, and luckily for Weiss, Blake woke up early enough to get Yang up, thus sparing both Ruby and Weiss of waking up at the same time as them. Though, normally Ruby was up early. Yang had assumed that it was either dreamless sleep, or a conversation with Onyx. Either way, Yang thought that it was best if Ruby was allowed to sleep.

Now she rose. Her form was still dressed in her normal nighttime attire, and her gloves and mask were off {as now they had no fears of anyone discovering her at night}. She walked over to where Weiss was sleeping, and watched over her.

Weiss seemed to sense that something was off, and her eyes opened up. She looked up, and saw Ruby looming over her. Her eyes were still blurry, and she tried to make out the details. Ruby was still wearing her pajamas, no gloves, no mask, which meant she had just awoken. Something still seemed off to her, but she couldn't quite figure it out.

"Ruby?" Weiss said sleepily. "What're you doing here?" Ruby didn't reply, and Weiss grew slightly worried. "Ruby?" Without saying anything, Ruby jumped onto Weiss. She used one hand to grab both of Weiss' wrists, and her other to cram some kind of a fabric into her mouth. Weiss' eyes widened, and she realized what was wrong. Ruby's left and right eye were black and red.

Meaning it wasn't Ruby.

"Shhhhh," Onyx growled. "Be silent, and be still." It flicked out one of it's claws, and looked down at Weiss. "This'll be over in a moment." Weiss started to kick and scream, but nothing was audible and nothing made a difference. When it was Ruby who was in control, she had incredible strength but almost no way of knowing how to use it. When it was Onyx who was in control, you couldn't outmuscle it.

It slowly dragged it's claw down the front of Weiss' gown, and watched it tear. It gave a smile in satisfaction, and leaned in close to Weiss' ear.

"This is what you want, don't you?" It asked coldly. "You love her, so I will use her body." It's hand drifted down the front of Weiss' body, while it's head remained close to her ear. "I can stay silent."

What Onyx didn't hear was the door opening. It hadn't happened after long, but it didn't take long for action to occur. Yang threw her body into Onyx, and knocked it off of Weiss. Blake instantly ran over to Weiss, and helped take the torn piece of fabric out of her mouth. Weiss took in a deep breath, and started to breathe heavily.

"GET HER OUT!" Yang yelled out. It took all of her strength to make sure that Onyx didn't break free, and most of her aura. Blake nodded, and practically carried Weiss out of the room.

"Ruby, Ruby, Ruby!" Yang said, her voice changing from yelling to a calming but stern tone. "Get out here Ruby, get out here." Onyx stopped thrashing, and then looked up at Yang.

"Only because she doesn't want me too," Onyx said calmly. It's eye changed back to silver, and Ruby looked up at Yang.

"What happened?" Ruby asked. Ruby knew Yang wasn't on top of her for nothing, and since she had no memory of anything, Ruby had to ask.

"Onyx," Yang said, her voice dropping all the way down to a calming level. "It tried something, but it's gone now, okay?"

"No!" Ruby said. "I have to know. What did Onyx do?" Yang was silent for several moments, but then she sighed.

"It tried to rape Weiss," Yang said. "But I came in before it-."

"What?" Ruby asked. "It... It... No..." Ruby pushed Yang off of her, and walked into a corner. She put her hands over her ears, and started to rock back and forth.

"What did I do?" Ruby muttered. "What did I do? What did I do?" Tears started to form in her eyes, and Yang tried to walk over to her. She gently put her arms around Ruby, and sighed.

"You didn't do anything," Yang whispered. "It was all Onyx, I know it and you know it." Tears started to pour out of Ruby's eyes even harder, and she looked back at the door.

Weiss wouldn't forgive her, nor did Ruby expect it. What Onyx had tried to do was awful, she didn't deserve forgiveness. Worst off, Ruby couldn't forgive herself. It didn't matter what Yang said, her mind kept going back to one thing. The one thing that kept coming up was a simple phrase.

_I want to know... I want to know how it feels._

**End: Ah, I enjoy this far too much. On a self promotion note, I will be doing livestreams on twitch every Wednesday at 3:00 MST {5:00 EST for reference} for the foreseeable future. Tune in and you can ask any question you want too. Codynight22 on twitch, other questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	14. Odds and Understandings

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 14: Odds and Understandings

**Alright, coming right back to it. I do enjoy hearing everyone's takes on what Onyx does, though right now they do appear to be widely negative. Hm, well, I guess that I'll resume this story.**

Blake kept a very close hold on Weiss. As soon as the two had gotten out of the room, Blake used her hands to hold together Weiss' gown. Onyx had torn a single seam down the middle of it, fully exposing Weiss' chest and crotch. Weiss really didn't need anything else, so Blake wanted to ensure that she was concealed.

"Here we are," Blake said. She paused outside of the bathroom, and opened it up for Weiss. The heiress nodded nervously, and stepped inside. Blake sat Weiss down in a stall, and nodded to her.

"I'm gonna go and grab a spare uniform from Ozpin," Blake said. "You and Ruby are the same size, I'll just tell him that Ruby ripped hers. Well, Onyx did. Okay?" Weiss nodded, and stared blankly at the mirror. Blake wasn't looking, but Weiss was. She could see her breasts, the things that Onyx had come so close too. Weiss' mind kept showing those eyes, the ones staring right over her. It had been so hard for her to even come close to imagining what Ruby had felt when Onyx violated her, and Weiss had been so close to finding out first hand how it felt.

She was so wrapped up in thought, she hadn't realized that Blake had left and returned.

"Hey," Blake said, shaking Weiss' shoulder lightly. Weiss snapped back to reality, and looked up at Blake. She handed off the uniform, and Weiss threw it on as fast as possible.

"Thanks," Weiss side absently.

"It's what I have to do," Blake said. "How're you feeling?" Weiss' eyes zoomed out again, and she leaned against the back of the toilet.

"Scared," Weiss started. "Hurt, worried, nervous. I love Ruby so much, and I want to help her. But Onyx... Onyx is something else. I don't know if I can be around Ruby while it's in such control." Weiss finished, and felt her eyes tear. Blake hugged her for a second, and looked around her.

"Not here," Blake said. "I know someone who'll lend us their dorm while they're out at classes. Cry there, because crying in front of Onyx might not be a great idea, okay?" Weiss nodded, and Blake helped her up. She let out a sigh, and realized that it just became that much harder to keep the peace.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

"No, no, no, no," Ruby muttered. She had been at it the entire time. Her words alternated between no, what did I do, and why. Yang had been trying to calm her down, but Ruby couldn't be calmed down. She had done it, she had set Onyx on Weiss.

"Ruby," Yang said again. "Do you want to lie down?"

"No," Ruby said. "If I sleep, Onyx'll be there."

"That may be good," Yang said softly. "You need to talk with Onyx, and it won't reply now. Please, sleep and let it talk. I'll be right here, nothing'll happen."

"What if it tries to touch you?" Ruby asked weakly. Yang paused for a second, and then sighed.

"Onyx said something when I was on top of it," Yang started. "It said, 'Only because she doesn't want me too.' There's some level where Onyx won't hurt me. Plus, it's me. I'll be okay, alright?" Ruby nodded, and laid down. She closed her eyes, and felt a wave of calm immediately swept over her.

Ruby opened up her eyes, and saw the same snow covered forest that she was always in. Ruby looked around, and saw the same tress, the same snow, the same building in the distance, everything was the same. However, for the second time in a row, Onyx was no where to be seen.

"ONYX!" Ruby yelled out. "ONYX, WHERE ARE YOU?!" A small formation of black rose petals appeared in front of Ruby, and they cleared to reveal Onyx sitting on a single bench. It had it's mask and gloves off, and it's legs were folded over each other neatly.

"Have a seat, my flower," Onyx called out. Ruby walked over, and sat on the opposite side of the bench. Onyx tried to reach over, but Ruby ducked out of the way. Onyx sighed, and returned to an upright position.

"Why?" Ruby asked. "I want to know why before I will trust you."

"You asked to know what it felt like to be with someone," Onyx began. "I was going to supply that."

"That's not what I meant," Ruby said, her voice sounding sad and broken.

"I know," Onyx said, an apparent note of despair in it's voice. "I acted instead of asked, that was wrong of me."

"What?" Ruby asked, her mind completely snapping to Onyx.

"Ruby, our bodies are joined," Onyx began. "What gives me pleasure gives you pleasure, even though it is not what you desire. It's hard to distinguish this, but it is true. Pain is what gives me pleasure, but not you. I cannot be allowed to forget that." Both of them were met with a long period of silence, and Onyx finally looked over at Ruby.

"Ruby, I need things to survive," Onyx began. "You know why Grimm kill?"

"For the pleasure," Ruby replied sadly.

"Yes, for the pleasure. The food is necessary, but Grimm could easily get that elsewhere. I need something violent to keep me alive. Without it, I would simply fade into a point of non-existence." Ruby's eyes widened as she saw a way out, but Onyx already had it's hand raised.

"I comply with your wishes now," Onyx began. "If I were to come closer to this point, do you really think that anything would stop me, after all of this? I aim to survive and help you."

"Start by helping my friends," Ruby snapped.

"I will help you and I," Onyx replied calmly. "That is the way things have always been. However, if I reached a point of near non-existence, I would control you. I would kill whomever it is that's nearby, and then carry on. Rape is a placeholder, an appetizer if you will, so that I can exist. I need blood, my flower."

"Blood," Ruby muttered. "You... You need to kill?"

"You have forgotten our walks," Onyx continued absently. "Those walks kept me alive and at full strength."

"What if I fought you?" Ruby challenged. "What if I let you die?"

"Then you would die," Onyx said easily. "Tell me, do you think that you use your arms strength?" Ruby shook her head. "You are correct, you don't. I am in control of the strength. Just because I would be gone doesn't mean my marks wouldn't." Ruby looked down at her arms, and saw that they were bare. Her eyes then trailed over to Onyx's arms, and then she let out a deep sigh.

"Without the knowledge of how to control it, your strength would get you killed," Onyx continued. "You need me to survive, and I need you. I never once lied to you, my flower. Name one time that I have?" Ruby treated Onyx with silence, and then slowly slid over to it. "Yes, good, you're learning. Weiss was... Unfortunate. I will not be able to patch this with anything. Of course, I also do not patch. What I can do, is make it up to you." Onyx gently put it's arm around Ruby, and pulled her head on it's shoulder.

"I need another kill," Onyx said. "Most likely several kills. Then, my flower, I will continue to help you. I shall obey what you tell me, but you must not forget about our walks."

"Weiss was my fault," Ruby finally said. "I didn't... I didn't..."

"It was not," Onyx said sharply. "Your team needs Weiss much more then you may know. Blake is quietly the mediator, Yang is the comforter, and Weiss is the fool who'll do anything to help you. You need all three of them, it was me. Leave it at that, and inform Weiss that you have a hand on me." Onyx pulled Ruby's eyes to meet it's own, and stared her down. "Okay?" Ruby nodded, and Onyx smiled.

"I will leave you be for today," Onyx said. "I shall provide guidance if guidance is needed, but I believe I cannot fool you into thinking that my desires lie apart from killing. Awake my flower."

Ruby's eyes snapped open, and she calmly sat upright. Yang placed her arm around Ruby, and looked in her eyes. Yang expected a great deal of things from Ruby's eyes when she awoke. Fear, panic, worry, pain. This time, they were calm. They held nothing in them but calm.

"Ruby?" Yang asked softly.

"We're at peace," Ruby said, her voice sounding amazingly level. "I'm going out to the Emerald Forest." Ruby stood up, and grabbed a bundle of clothing for herself. "I'll change, grab Crescent Rose, and leave."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Yang asked.

"I need to feed Onyx," Ruby said blankly. "If I do not, it'll act out more to survive. Talk to Weiss and Blake when you can." Ruby started to toss off her clothes, and she put on a fresh set. She completed her look with her mask and gloves, and then she folded Crescent Rose up.

"Ruby," Yang said softly. She put her hand on Ruby's shoulder, and looked her in the eye. "I don't like this. I don't trust what Onyx is doing here."

"I know," Ruby replied sadly. "I don't know if I trust it fully either, but I know what it has to do. I have to trust it right now, okay?" Yang sighed, and let go of Ruby.

"I love you, Ruby," Yang said.

"I love you too Yang," Ruby replied.

"Please don't lose yourself, okay?" Yang asked. Ruby nodded, and closed the door.

Yang sat down on her bed, and looked at the door. Blake and Weiss weren't there, Ruby wasn't there, she felt strange. As though she didn't have something to do, and maybe that she didn't have the luxury of breaking down. She felt empty. Immediately, Yang started to cry. She cried empty tears for her sister, and the thing that she may lose her too.

_Team AROW's Dorm_

Blake held Weiss' head on her shoulder, and let the tears flow freely. The leader of AROW and her were very good friends, so luckily he hadn't asked too many questions and just let Weiss in.

"Let it all out there," Blake said as she patted Weiss on the back. Weiss had long since forgotten why she was crying. Her fear for Onyx, her love for Ruby, both maybe, but now she couldn't remember. Now Weiss was crying just because she could. Now was the only time she could cry.

"Thank you," Weiss finally said. "For all of this."

"Hey," Blake said, pulling Weiss up to face her. "I'm your teammate. We have to do this for each other."

"B-b-but how I reacted about Faunus," Weiss started.

"That's in the past now," Blake said. "Your past doesn't define you. It doesn't define anyone."

"It does," Weiss said. "Onyx is a relic of the past, we all know that. It defines what Ruby is now."

"No," Blake said. "It defines what Onyx is. Ruby and Onyx are two very different things. Ruby wouldn't try to hurt you." Blake looked down at her scroll, and fired off a message to Yang. Yang replied very quickly, and Blake looked over at Weiss.

"We have to get back," Blake said. "Ruby's out right now, we can get you back in and get you dressed, okay?"

"Okay," Weiss said. She let Blake help her up, and then the two girls started to walk back. On the way, Blake fired off a brief thank you to the leader of AROW.

_Beacon Halls: Later_

Ruby slowly walked down the corridors, trying to take careful note of whether or not someone was there. Her arms were coated in a layer of blood and some small pieces of... Something. Even Ruby wasn't entirely sure as to what Onyx had done. She just remembered finding a group of Ursai, and then nothing. The next thing she knew, Ruby was already walking back to Beacon.

Her face was also covered in some blood, as as her mask. It would take a shower to get all of this out, which Ruby was fine with. She was finally beginning to calm down.

_Are you alright, my flower? _Onyx chirped in. _You seem a little tired._

"Fine," Ruby mumbled. "I don't want you walking."

_Why is that? I've already gotten my fill for the day, and most likely enough to hold me for the week. However, I wish to do more then hold. I do not want to have another... Incident so soon. _Ruby nodded, and rounded the final corner before her dorm. She slowly opened up the door, and took a look inside.

Yang was sitting on her bed nervously, Blake and Weiss were both sitting on the same bed, and both of them were just staring at Ruby. She never felt more out of place. She had left almost 3 hours ago, and when she had returned she was covered in blood. After this morning, no one could be sure if it was human blood or Grimm blood.

"I'm going to shower," Ruby announced. She opened up the bathroom door, and closed it without waiting for a word. She pulled the mask off of her face, and tossed off her gloves. She took a good look at herself in the mirror. Blood speckled her face all the way up to her left side. That was completely untouched, nothing but fur, burns, and scars. Her hands were also blood covered in fur, burns, and scars as well, but no blood. They were the only two parts of her body that remained untouched by blood.

She took off the rest of her clothing, and stepped into the shower. She turned up the heat to high, and let the water run over her. The blood slowly pooled off of her, and Ruby sighed happily.

_This is how things should be, _Onyx whispered. _I handle the bad things, and you handle the good things. We shall not mix pain with pleasure._

"But I thought they were the same thing?" Ruby asked, briefly confused as to what Onyx meant.

_I am pain, you are pleasure. These two things can coexist, however they cannot clash. The moment they do, all is lost. Pain will always win, for the feelings of pain are much greater then pleasure. Speaking of which, we must discuss an unpleasantry. Weiss._

"I'll talk to her," Ruby said softly. "I'll talk to her and I don't want you to intervene."

_I will not, _Onyx replied. _I shall merely offer my opinions in certain areas. Though, I will do my best not to state the obvious. _Ruby laughed softly, and then stepped out of the shower. She washed off her mask and gloves, and then got dressed.

She walked back into the room, and saw that very little had changed. Yang eyed her sister cautiously, and Ruby just took a seat on her bed. She opened up a book to study, and started to review her notes. After a little bit of time, Ruby finally put down her book, and walked over to the bed that Weiss and Blake were sitting on.

"Can we talk?" Ruby asked softly. Blake nodded to Weiss, who in turn nodded to Ruby. Ruby sat down, and Blake stood up. She returned to her bed, which wasn't too far off of Ruby. Both her and Yang watched by carefully.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"I just want to talk," Ruby said calmly. "About earlier." Ruby reached over for Weiss' arm, and Weiss recoiled away from her. "Weiss, please, that was Onyx."

"I know," Weiss said.

"But it's okay, I have it under control. It won't act out if-."

"If you do what?" Weiss asked angrily. "Let it rape me once a week?"

"Weiss, I-."

"NO!" Weiss yelled out. "I love you Ruby, but you can't separate Onyx and your own desires." Weiss rose to her feet, and started to walk towards the door. "And I can't wait until something bad enough happens and you can." Weiss slammed the door shut behind her, and Ruby just stared blankly ahead. Blake got up and went after Weiss, while Yang walked over to Ruby.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yang asked.

"No," Ruby said shakily. "I-I-I." Ruby dead stopped, and curled up with Yang. Ruby put her head onto Yang's chest, and held onto her.

_She'll take time to come around, _Onyx said reassuringly. _Take time and be patient. _Ruby curled up with Yang even more, and closed her eyes. She wanted tears to come. Tears for a friend she may have lost, tears for a partner who may never trust her again, tears for someone who loved her, and someone Ruby wasn't sure if she loved back.

But after seven years of crying, there were no more tears left for her to shed.

**End: First off, I would like to issue an apology. I said that I would stream yesterday at 3:00 CST, but I forgot that I have PT so I am streaming today at the same time {in 1:30 from when I post this, and at 3:00 PM CST, 6:00 EST}. Twitch is still codynight22, drop by for any questions. But, you can also leave questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback here and it will be appreciated.**


	15. Onyx

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 15: Onyx

**I'm back! Sorry for the long delay between updates, I was in Boston for 3 days earlier this week, and that meant 0 writing as I got evaluated for the CRPS rehab program. I'm in, but I'm waiting on a starting date. Thank you for everyone for getting me to 80 followers! Y'all are great. Let's pick things up again.**

Weiss ran through the halls, and finally reached the library. She opened it up, and sat at the couch in the back of the building. She curled up in a ball, and remained there. She heard footsteps not too much later, and then looked up. Blake was staring down at her, and Weiss buried her head into the cushion, and pulled herself in more.

"Go away," Weiss said sadly. Tears were trying to get out of her eyes, but Weiss wouldn't let them. She shouldn't feel this upset by all of this. She should be defensive, furious, not sad.

"I won't," Blake replied. "You're in a bad place right now, you need help."

"I don't want it," Weiss said.

"I know," Blake said. "What happened to you was... It was... I really don't know how to say what it was. The girl you love, as you have already said, tried to rape you. To make it worse, it wasn't even her. I don't even want to begin to try and imagine what that feels like, because I know I can't. Weiss, just let it out. It hurts more if you keep it in." Weiss looked up at Blake, and finally let her tears flow. She hugged the Faunus tightly, and buried her head in Blake's shoulder.

"It's so hard," Weiss cried. "It's just so hard because of Onyx. I don't know what the hell it is that it wants. To make it worse, Ruby defended it. She said that she had it under control now. What the hell is that?" Blake paused, and slowly rubbed Weiss' back.

"Onyx needs blood to survive," Blake finally said. "Ruby took it out on walks so it could kill Grimm. If she didn't, Onyx would start to die. It had to do something, so it raped Ruby. When it didn't get it's walk, it went after you. I guess Ruby finally took it out on a walk, so now it's calm."

"Why not let Onyx die?" Weiss cried. "Get rid of that fucking thing."

"If Onyx dies, Ruby would eventually die as well," Blake said sadly. "Her strength would be too much for her to handle, thus leading to an early end as Ruby would do damage to everything."

"How do you know all of this?" Weiss finally asked. "Did Yang tell you?" Blake suddenly paused, but then she resumed as quickly as possible.

"I don't know," Blake said. "I just do." Weiss sobbed some more, and just sank further into Blake's arms. She had never felt so crushed then just now, when she had heard that the girl she loved and the thing she hated could never be separate.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

Ruby sat in Yang's arms, and held onto her. Her eye looked tortured from the lack of tears they could shed, and Yang just continued to hold her.

"It's not your fault Ruby," Yang said softly. "You know that it's not."

_It'd be wise to listen to your sister, _Onyx said. _Weiss was me, and the faster you accept that the more convincing you can be when speaking with her._

"I know," Ruby said, partially replying to both Onyx and Yang. "I know that this was Onyx. At the same time, I still said something to Onyx. I said something bad, Yang. I didn't even feed Onyx like I knew I had to." She pulled herself further into Yang's arms, and rested her head on Yang's chest. "It kind of was my fault."

_NO! _Onyx said sharply. Ruby suddenly brought her hands up to her head, caught off guard by the sudden words by Onyx. _None of this relates to you, none of it apart from that I had to use your body. This one's on me. Pain and pleasure, remember._

"Pain and pleasure," Ruby mumbled.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Onyx is pain and I'm pleasure," Ruby continued. She let go of her sister, and walked over to her bed. Ruby took a seat, and patiently awaited Weiss and Blake's return.

She sat there for another hour. Weiss and Blake weren't coming back for so long, that Yang had to send Blake a message. After a short reply, Yang informed Ruby that both of them would be a short while. Blake had taken Weiss for food, and then they would return in time for curfew.

"You might as well let up," Yang suggested. "You can rest for right now."

"I won't," Ruby said calmly. "I'm going to wait as long as I have to. I have to set this closer to right, because I don't think I can set it right." Yang sighed, and took a seat in her bed. Ruby had already asked for Yang to stay put and to stop comforting her. For some reason, Ruby felt better. It may have been an odd trust for Onyx in Ruby, or it may have just been a feeling of calm that Onyx was fed. Even though she was terrified that Weiss would never accept her again, she may have finally joined together with Onyx in a more even way.

The door finally opened up, and Weiss cautiously stepped inside. Blake trailed just behind her, and Ruby watched them both. Her eyes bounced between the two girls. She tensed her leg muscles to rise, but her hand gripped down on the bed.

_The last time you approached Weiss, it didn't end well, _Onyx chided. _Stay here, she will approach you if she is willing to talk._

"I don't want to just wait though," Ruby said softly.

_Patience is a valuable tool, my flower. Perhaps it is best for you to try it in this instance. Weiss will come back, I __can promise that much. _As if Onyx knew what would happen, Weiss rose to her feet and walked over to Ruby. She sat down on the other side of the bed from her, and stared down at her uniform.

"I want to talk to you," Weiss said quietly. Ruby nodded, and Weiss barely caught it out of the corner of her eye. "Onyx is being fed now, does that really mean that it won't... It won't..."

"It won't touch you," Ruby said. She almost raised her hand to grab Weiss' shoulder, but it wouldn't lift off the bed.

_Don't do that, _Onyx warned. Ruby nodded to herself, and then cleared her throat.

"Onyx has never acted out of line when it's fed," Ruby said. "CRDL... They had to die. I... I don't like what it did but it had to be done. Everything it's ever done was to stop something from hurting us. It needed something, and I want to say that I'm sorry. I..." Ruby froze, and averted her gaze from Weiss. "I told Onyx I wanted to know what it was like to be with someone." Weiss' stare suddenly rose from her feet up to Ruby. "I hate that I said that, I know that's why it did what it did." Tears started to appear in Weiss' eyes as she stared at Ruby and the pained look on her face. "I'm so sorry Weiss. I can't..."

"Ruby," Weiss finally said, her voice shaky from her tears. "I understand. I hope that you have Onyx under control, but I don't trust that you do. Can we please just... Just pretend. When we're out in public, we have to carry on like nothing has happened, okay? If we don't, people will ask questions." Weiss rose to her feet and wiped off her eyes. "I don't want people to ask questions about you." Ruby nodded, and continued to stare at her feet.

_Progress, _Onyx whispered. _That is all you can ask for, progress. _Ruby nodded, and curled up into a ball.

"Night," she called out. Without waiting for another reply, she closed her eyes and fell into blackness.

Her eyes opened again, and she found herself in the middle of the same forest as she was always in. The trees were lined with snow, the landscape barren, and that factory was in flames in the distance. Black rose petals soon swirled to form, and Ruby saw Onyx sitting on that same bench.

"Ruby," it greeted.

"Onyx," she replied.

"Have a seat." Ruby walked over to the bench and cautiously lowered herself onto the bench. Onyx looked over at Ruby, and carefully stared her in the eyes. "Your talk with Weiss went well," it said calmly.

"Not really," Ruby replied sadly. "I told her what I had said to you."

"That is not a mistake," Onyx reassured her. "Your words were intended with no harm, Weiss can see that. For now, trust will have to be built." Onyx wrapped it's arm around Ruby, and kissed her on the forehead. Ruby recoiled from this action, and Onyx let go. Ruby slid herself away from Onyx, but after a few moments she slid back over to Onyx.

"I don't know how I feel about you," Ruby said shakily. "You say so many things, but I don't know what to believe. You are a Grimm, you'll always be a Grimm."

"Correct," Onyx said. It rose to it's feet, and stared at Ruby. "I am a Grimm, I do say many things, I will never change. However, you must place your trust carefully. Tell me, are you aware of how wolves work?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Wolves are pack animals," Onyx began. They are all about family, those they love require the upmost attention. They will do anything for them. The question is, am I a lone wolf or a pack wolf? Do I protect you out of love or out of the need for me to survive, as I would only look out for myself." Onyx paused, and looked away from Ruby. "You and I both know that it didn't matter which of these were true, I would tell you that you and I are a pack," Onyx resumed. "I can only tell you so many things. I will not lie and tell you that I consider any of your team apart of a pack, they are not my pack. I hope they prove themselves, now all of them have a chance."

"Yang didn't before?" Ruby asked.

"No," Onyx replied. "Wolves value strength. While your sister has plenty of it, I do not know if she fits in with the pack. Never before have you fought with her like you will now, so now I shall see. Weiss and Blake are interesting, I am unclear as to how a cat fits in with a wolf pack." Onyx smiled, and kneeled down to Ruby.

"Right now, it is you and I," Onyx said. "That is what I believe is my pack. The others will have to earn their way into it, but I only trust a few." Onyx looked down at it's feet, but then brought it's gaze back to Ruby. "I was separated from whatever host I was intended to be in. Modified Grimm's blood, my goal was clear. I was isolated from a _real _pack, put in with those that viewed me as more of a monster then an ally. I came to be inside of you instead. I became Onyx." Ruby remained silent, and she finally hugged Onyx.

"I never thought about this," Ruby said. "I always just thought about you being something terrible and nothing more. I never thought that... I never thought..."

"You never thought that I was just as lonely as you," Onyx finished. "It's difficult to, I'll give you that. But just as you had me, I had you. Where our differences lie is that I only had you, and no one else." Onyx broke away from the hug, and stared Ruby in the eyes. "That has not yet changed, but one day it might." Black rose petals formed at Onyx's feet, and it smiled widely.

"Our time here is over," Onyx said. "Someone who cares for you is trying to wake you." Black rose petals consumed Onyx, and the rest of the landscape soon followed.

Ruby's eyes opened up, and she saw Weiss hovering over her.

"Get up," Weiss said impatiently. "You slept late, and today is an impromptu sparing class." Ruby mumbled something, and rose to her feet. She picked up her clothes and walked over to the bathroom. She stripped down and put on her clothing as quickly as possible. She took a long look at herself in the mirror, and stared at the left side of her face. She lifted up her mask, and slowly started to set it down.

_No, my flower, _Onyx said softly. _You must not throw this away. They will not accept me, you know that._

"I don't want to hide you," Ruby said.

_Unpleasantries and necessities often coincide with each other, _Onyx responded. _Do not compromise both of us for this. _Ruby sighed, and put the mask back on. She exited the bathroom, and picked up Crescent Rose.

"Finally," Weiss said haughtily. "We can get going." Weiss left the dorm instantly, leaving Ruby in a small state of confusion. Things seemed... Normal with Weiss.

_Can we please just... Just pretend. When we're out in public, we have to carry on like nothing has happened, okay?_

Ruby maybe didn't give that quite as much thought as she should have. Weiss was going to carry on with normal business, Ruby had to keep pace.

_Sparring: Glynda Goodwitch_

RWBY all took their normal seats for the class, and looked around. They noticed that not every team was present. Teams like LVDR, BLOD, SHCK were all missing from the current spots.

_Missing teams, _Onyx said. _Hm, it appears this is going to happen much sooner then I thought._

"What?" Ruby mumbled.

"Good morning class," Goodwitch called out. "I am sure you are wondering why all of you are here, and most importantly why not everyone is here. Professor Ozpin discussed with me that there is an important job to take care of. He wants one team from the first years to be ready to act on hand."

"What's the job?" Someone yelled out.

"I am not aware of that," Goodwitch said.

_She's lying, _Onyx whispered.

"I am aware of what my job here is," Goodwitch continued. "How this will work, is that each team shall send forth a fighter. When one member loses, that qualifies as a strike. Four strikes, you lose. Are we all clear?" Everyone nodded, and Goodwitch smiled. "Let's begin."

The fights went on, and many of them were intense. Several teams, such as AROW and SLVR, went down early. Four strikes, game over. JNPR suffered a quick two loses, as Jaune was no match for Weiss and Blake edged by Ren. Nora took down Blake and Pyrrha bounced them back against Weiss. The two teams proceeded to fight several other opponents with two strikes, and it came down to the last few. Ruby defeated Nora, and Yang lost out to Pyrrha. It took almost no time for it to only be Pyrrha and Ruby left, concerning Yang.

"Hey," Yang said to her little sister. "Are you sure that you'll be okay? I mean, are you sure Onyx won't act out?"

"No," Ruby replied. "But Onyx isn't going to kill her, it won't kill anyone."

_I am merely going to act if you need me to, _Onyx said.

"It's just going to act if I need it to," Ruby echoed. "Don't worry, I can do this. I know combat." Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose, and took the stage.

Pyrrha Nikos, the star student of Sanctum, winner of the Mistral regional tournament four times in a row, and top student. Ruby didn't really know her, as she didn't know anyone outside of her team, but she knew of Pyrrha. Pyrrha was always very kind, she stood up for her team, and she was an excellent fighter. Most likely, she was the best out of all of the first years.

_Do you wish to win this fight? _Onyx asked.

"What?" Ruby mumbled to it.

_Do you wish to win this fight and take on this job? If so, I am here to aid you. If you would rather stay here and not risk the job, I can __hand you control of your arms completely._

"What's the job?" Ruby asked softly. "You seem to know."

_Indeed I do, _Onyx replied simply. _However, it is not my place to say what it is. What is your decision? _Ruby paused for a moment, and hefted her scythe on her shoulders. _As you wish._

"Ms. Nikos and Ms. Rose," Goodwitch called out. "Either JNPR or RWBY will be partaking in this job. Are both of you ready."

"Yes," Both girls called out at the same time.

"Very well. Begin!" Goodwitch jumped out of the way, and Ruby charged instantly. She fired off a round to send her forward at a faster pace, and she swung around her scythe. Pyrrha raised up her shield and watched as the scythe skidded off of the top. She raised up her hand, and Ruby felt her scythe being pulled up. The rim of Pyrrha's shield caught her in the stomach, and knocked Ruby back.

Ruby rolled to her feet, but felt her breath already coming back to her.

_I'll handle the aura for now, _Onyx said. _Worry about your technique. Pyrrha's semblance is polarity, remember._

"Poles?" Ruby whispered. She started to circle around Pyrrha, trying to keep a steady distance between both of them while Onyx explained it's case.

_It means she has magnetic abilities, _Onyx replied. _You must keep that in mind. Your mask is immune, simply due to the precautions Qrow took. Your scythe, however, is not._

"Got it," Ruby whispered. She took off after Pyrrha, and lowered her scythe. Pyrrha swung around her sword, but Ruby vaulted over the strike. She swung around Crescent Rose and she managed to catch Pyrrha in the back. Pyrrha stumbled forward, her aura keeping her from any major injuries, but after she turned around Pyrrha yanked Crescent Rose from Ruby's hands with her semblance. Her precious scythe went skidding to the floor, and Ruby stared at Pyrrha.

"That is the match," Goodwitch called out. "Ms. Rose has been disarmed, thus meaning that-."

"No," Ruby said sternly.

"Excuse me?" Goodwitch asked.

_What're you doing? _Onyx asked.

"I said no," Ruby stated sternly. "I want to keep fighting. My aura's not in the red, I can keep fighting." Goodwitch just nodded, and stepped aside.

"The match resumes," she said.

"Your turn," Ruby whispered.

_Very well, _Onyx said wickedly. Ruby closed her eyes, and Onyx opened them.

It lowered it's arms, and grinned at Pyrrha. It rushed forward, and Pyrrha raised up her shield. Onyx leapt over the shield, and plucked it out of Pyrrha's hands. She spun around and switched her sword into it's rifle form. Pyrrha squeezed off several rounds, but Onyx felt itself sprinting away.

_I'll run, _Ruby said. Onyx grinned, and dove at Pyrrha. She switched around her rifle into it's spear for, and planted it firmly in the ground. Onyx's eyes widened, and it tried to move itself slightly out of the way. It only just succeeded, and the spear went right through it's left shoulder. It called out briefly in pain, but immediately pulled the spear out of it's shoulder. Pyrrha looked up to check the aura count. Just as her stare went up, Onyx tried to stand up.

_Don't, _Ruby told it. Onyx complied, and stayed grounded. It's energy was being spent on stopping the blood in it's shoulder.

Pyrrha walked over to Onyx, and she started to bring her spear up to it's head. Just as she was about to, Onyx's right arm swung out and hit her in the stomach. Pyrrha flew across the room, and she slammed into the wall. Onyx slowly rose to it's feet, and relinquished it's control over Ruby's body.

"An impressive fight, Ms. Rose," Goodwitch called out. "The medical staff will patch up your shoulder. Otherwise, class dismissed. Team RWBY, you are required to report to Ozpin as soon as your shoulder is patched up, Ms. Rose." Ruby nodded, and sat down in wait for the medical staff.

Her team ran over to her as soon as they could, and looked at Ruby's shoulder.

"Was that you?" Yang asked. "The unarmed combat, was that you?"

"I ran," Ruby said shakily. "It fought. I hit Pyrrha."

"You did what?" Blake asked, her tone completely deadpan.

"I hit Pyrrha. Onyx wanted to get up and run after her, I wanted to wait."

"That was you?" Weiss asked. Ruby nodded, and the medic finally came over to tend to Ruby's shoulder. "But, how?"

"I'm not the only one who was lonely," Ruby said softly.

**End: Onyx got it's building chapter. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	16. Action

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 16: Action

The nurse finally lifted her hand away from Ruby's shoulder, and smiled down at her.

"With all of the rumors, never thought I'd have to treat you," the nurse remarked. "You should be all good to go. Everything actually healed very easily, I just had to guide it all."

"Thanks," Ruby said. She rose to her feet, and slowly rolled her shoulder a few times.

_Compliments to the chef, _Onyx remarked. _The shoulder is back to 100%._

"Professor Ozpin would like to see you now," the nurse said. "He'll be at his office." The nurse rose to her feet, and walked off. Ruby rolled her shoulder again, and looked at her team happily.

"Well, I bled for this," Ruby said jokingly. "Time to go and find out why." Yang nodded, and gestured for Weiss and Blake to follow behind her. Yang still took as many precautions as absolutely necessary to make sure that Weiss and Blake would be okay, no matter how many reassuring things Ruby said about Onyx.

The four girls made their way over to Ozpin's office very quickly. No one said much, except to occasionally praise Ruby over her fight. When they arrived at the door, Ruby carefully knocked on the door.

"Come in," Ozpin called out from inside. Ruby opened up the door, and her team all piled in. The room was as messy as it normally was, which was less messy and more filled with files. Ozpin had laid out four chairs for them, and he was sitting on the other side of the desk. As usual, Glynda Goodwitch was nearby him.

"Have a seat," he said calmly. RWBY all took their seats, and stared at Ozpin.

"So uh," Ruby started. "We're here for a job or something?"

"Yes, yes you are," Ozpin said slowly. "Terribly sorry about the big deal that was made of it. Every year, I have to hold this tournament to see what first year team will partake in the jobs. In the past it's been team on team. However, I had to ensure that you four would be the ones that won."

"What?" Weiss asked. "It was a setup?"

"Yes," Ozpin continued. "I knew that no one, not even the world famous Pyrrha Nikos, would be able to defeat Onyx in combat." Ruby's face went even paler, but Ozpin held up his hands. "Do not be alarmed, Ruby. I simply had to take the necessary precautions to ensure that no one would ask questions about your team receiving this job."

_Very sneaky indeed, _Onyx said._I am quite pleased about this. I didn't even know this._

"So what is the job?" Ruby asked, cutting off Onyx as soon as she possibly could.

"We have information on some people whom you have encountered before," Ozpin began. "Blake, yourself and Ruby interrupted Roman Torchwick during a Dust heist on a Schnee freighter. Now, we have some more information on them. Three others, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald have been rumored to be using his services."

"Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald?" Weiss asked. "Excuse me Ozpin, but I am not familiar with those three names."

"Neither are we," Ozpin continued. "You can see why it is that we are so cautious about this. Roman Torchwick often fights for himself or the winning team, and he is right more often then wrong during those circumstances. Find their resources, and attack them. Gather intelligence. RWBY, do whatever you have to to get that intelligence." Ruby's face became pale, and she nodded shakily. The other three nodded as well, understanding full and well what Ozpin meant.

"Is that all?" Yang asked. "Don't we at least have a place to attack?"

"Not yet," Ozpin continued. "When we get the information, you four top the list of teams for us to contact." Ozpin pulled out another file, and opened it up. "You four are dismissed." RWBY nodded, and rose to their feet. They all walked out of the room, and started to talk amongst each other.

_Do whatever is necessary, _Onyx growled. _This is an order I can follow with quite well._

"Quiet," Ruby hissed. "We don't need to worry about this yet."

_Understood, _Onyx replied. _However, when the time comes I would appreciate if I was allowed to interrogate_.

"Yeah," Ruby said. "Yeah, I think so."

_Thank you, _Onyx said. _I can sniff a lie. _Ruby thought over this for a while, but shook her head.

"Could anyone else go for lunch?" Yang asked casually. "I am really hungry."

"You could always go for lunch," Blake said boredly.

"That is not true at all. Sometimes I could really go for breakfast, or dinner, or even if I'm feeling really Ruby, dessert."

"You're gonna get fat," Blake said boredly.

"Apparently all of it just goes to her chest," Weiss replied offhandedly. "No worries about her getting fat."

"Was that a dig?" Yang asked. "Did Weiss just get a dig in at me? I don't know what's happening. The whole world has been turned upside down." Weiss just gave Yang a fake laugh with a prissy face, and the four of them carried on into the dining hall.

They all took a tray and found an empty table. The four of them sat down, but something seemed off to Ruby. It took her a few moments to place a finger on it, but then she turned her head around. Everyone was staring at her.

It wasn't the same stares she had gotten when Onyx had killed CRDL, these were different. It was an odd kind of respect, admiration, and fear. Most importantly fear.

"What's up Rubes?" Yang asked, noticing her sister looking around her.

"People are staring," Ruby said nervously. "They're all looking at me."

"Because you knocked Pyrrha, in full armor, across the room," Blake said boredly. "No one else here can send anyone flying across a room with one hit."

"I still don't like it," Ruby said. She shuffled around in her seat a little bit, and her hand unconsciously up to her mask. "It makes my mask feel warm."

"Just ignore them," Yang requested. "No one is going to-."

"Hey," someone said.

"Mother fucker..." Yang mumbled. She looked up, and Ruby turned around. Team JNPR were all standing right behind Ruby, with Pyrrha at the front.

"Hey," Ruby said nervously.

"We've never really talked," Pyrrha said casually. "We met in the Emerald Forest and you just bested me in a fight, I thought I may as well speak with you." Ruby nodded, and Pyrrha looked around at the table. "May we have a seat?"

"Yeah, sure," Ruby said. JNPR all took their seats, Pyrrha and Jaune choosing to go across from Ruby while Nora and Ren sat down next to her. The table was filled with awkward silence for a little while, and finally Pyrrha took action.

"So how did you train?" Pyrrha asked. "I'm interested in how you're so strong. I don't know if Nora could backhand me and send me across the room." Nora's eyes lit up at the challenge, but Pyrrha raised her hands up nervously. "No, not a challenge."

"Awe," Nora said sadly.

"I just go out and kill Grimm," Ruby said nervously. "Plus, Crescent Rose is pretty heavy so just using that has made me pretty strong."

"A lot more natural strength then you let on, huh?" Pyrrha said jokingly.

"Yeah," Ruby replied. "A lot more."

"What about the mask?" Jaune asked. Ruby felt her heartbeat grow faster and shorter as her chest tightened around it.

"What about it?" Ruby asked, her voice shaking with nerves.

"Is it hard to see out of?" Jaune asked. Ruby's chest untightened, and she slowly let herself breathe.

"No, it was well made," Ruby said. "Stalker's Steel."

"How come I couldn't grab onto it with my semblance?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's well made," Ruby replied. "There's something in it that makes it completely non-magnetic. My uncle was very cautious about this thing."

"Uncle?" Ren asked, finally speaking.

"Yeah," Ruby replied. "Qrow Xiao Long, he runs Signal Academy. He's my uncle and current guardian."

"Current guardian?" Jaune asked. "What does that mean."

"Jaune, drop this," Pyrrha said. "I'll explain latter on." Nora was already whispering {loose interpretation of the word whispering} something to Ren, prompting him to whisper back. Ruby could hear what Nora was asking, and Ren's reply was causing her to get unnerved.

"It means that my parents are dead," Ruby finally said. "My dad died a long time ago, I don't really remember him. My mom died seven years ago. Qrow took me in, Yang and I have become like sisters in all of this."

"Oh," Jaune said. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Ruby replied. "It's been seven years since-. Since she died." Ren's expression changed as he stared at Ruby, and she could feel as though something was moving about in her head.

_He's onto us, _Onyx hissed. _He suspects there is more to our story._

_He'd be correct, _Ruby thought, trying to keep her ideas within her mind. _It's natural to suspect something._

_I don't like this, _Onyx said. _I know that we're not supposed to, but I still don't. You know what I would say, so I won't say it._

_He doesn't seem like the prying type, _Ruby countered. _It just looks like he'll connect the dots if we're not careful._

"So could you show me one time?" Pyrrha asked Ruby. Ruby snapped her head up, and she looked over at Pyrrha. "Can you show me what you do when you take your walks through the Emerald Forest?"

"No," Ruby replied flatly. "I don't let anyone go with me. I-. I just don't like to have people with me."

"I don't even go," Yang added in, trying to draw some of the attention away from her sister. "It's really just not her style. She trains enough with us here."

"I guess so," Pyrrha said. Weiss checked down at her scroll, and rose to her feet.

"Well, it appears as though we should get going," Weiss said. "We all have a meeting with Ozpin to uphold."

"You do?" Jaune asked. "Oh, right, you do."

"This was fun," Nora remarked. "We should do this more often." Yang looked hesitantly at Ruby, who just slightly nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Yang said. "But now we should really get going."

"Bye," Pyrrha said.

"See ya," Yang replied. RWBY all got up, and started to leave the cafeteria.

"That was too close," Blake whispered.

"Now do you see why we kept Ruby isolated?" Yang hissed. "Even knowing that she would end up in a team was hard for me to do."

"Nora's chatty," Weiss observed. "Ren's observant. Pyrrha will push only when she has to, and Jaune doesn't seem like he's capable of leading anything that's not a battle. Nora and Ren are going to be our biggest worries."

"I can lie," Ruby said flatly. "I can lie about anything I need to. What I can't lie about, Onyx will." Weiss' posture changed when she heard Onyx's name. "Regardless, we don't have to worry right now. I just... I need to talk with Onyx about some things."

"What things?" Blake asked. "If I may, of course."

"The job," Ruby replied. She said nothing else after that, and everyone left it there.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

The four girls walked into the dorm, and Ruby instantly tossed off her mask and gloves. She jumped onto her bed, and leaned back.

"Napping?" Yang asked.

"Speaking," Ruby replied. "If I want to sleep, Onyx will make me sleep. This is the best place to talk to him. Both of us can exist physically at the same time." Yang sighed, and just rubbed Ruby's head.

"Stay safe, okay kiddo?" Yang requested.

"It's our mind," Ruby replied. "I'm as safe as I can be." Ruby leaned back in her bed, and closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she was back in the snowy forest.

"Not to criticize, a different change of place might be nice every once in a while," Ruby yelled out. Black rose petals formed up in front of Ruby, and slowly boiled down to the shape of Onyx.

"I am most comfortable here," Onyx said easily. "If you would like, I could bring up somewhere else in my memories."

"No, it's fine here," Ruby replied. "I just need to talk to you a little bit."

"About the job," Onyx said. "Yes, I heard."

"I will limit you when it comes to intelligence," Ruby said instantly. "I know what you want to do to get it. I won't let you do it every time."

"I will do whatever is necessary," Onyx said. "The beauty of the mind of a beast is that we follow one order. If our job is to get information, I shall get information."

"You're first priority is to listen to me, remember?" Ruby said, using a tone of authority that she had picked up from listening to Weiss and Onyx.

"Commanding," Onyx observed. "Stern. Perhaps you are learning how to speak to a dog." Onyx smiled, and cracked it's knuckles. "I shall listen to what it is that you tell me to do, as always. When I am needed, I shall step forth. However, save one for me."

"Always," Ruby said. Onyx turned to walk away, and Ruby cleared her throat. "Wait, there's one more thing." Onyx paused, and turned it's head slightly back towards Ruby.

"What is that, my flower?" Onyx inquired.

"Shouldn't you know?" Ruby challenged.

"I see what you let me see. I don't dig into your thoughts, as you do not do with mine." Ruby sighed, and stood upright.

"How did you know about the job?" Ruby asked slowly. "You knew about the job, and that's not the first thing you knew about that you shouldn't have. How did you get the information?" Onyx paused, and smiled at Ruby.

"Seven years of odd tidbits and only now is your curiosity enough to ask," Onyx stated. "However, it wasn't enough on it's own. Have you ever wondered how I learn the things I do? How I see images that you don't? How I always can sniff a lie? You and I have the same sense of smell, you must know that I just use an expression for that. So how do I know?"

"I don't know," Ruby said nervously. "I'm afraid to find out, but I have to know." Onyx nodded, and clasped it's hands together.

"I am tied to you," Onyx said. "I cannot leave you, nor can I do anything to separate the better part of myself from you." Onyx paused, and looked down at it's hands. Ruby kept a close eye on it as it seemed to slowly think out what it was going to say. "Do excuse me," Onyx said. "This question comes unexpected. I must wait and pick my words carefully, as I am treading on thin ice."

"Yes, yes you are," Ruby said dryly. Onyx remained silent for a few moments, and then unclasped it's hands.

"I am almost entirely tied to you," Onyx began. "Every physical aspect of me is left here, thus meaning that I cannot leave." Onyx paused again, and took in a deep breath. "However, I can separate small parts of myself from you. It eases some of the pressure from you, making your life easier. I can use it to latch onto other people's subconscious. I can talk to them, see through their eyes, and learn about them."

"So you lied to me," Ruby said flatly, anger starting to rise to her head. "You told me you and I are bound to each other."

"We are," Onyx growled. "Were you not listening? I can only do small parts of me. How do you think Blake talked to Weiss?" Ruby froze, and looked at Onyx in confusion. "How do you think that, while you were speaking with her, I was able to tell that Weiss was lying to you about how she loved you? How do you think I pulled up that image of Pyrrha sleeping while I was talking with you." Ruby took a step back from Onyx, and it just nodded.

"Yes," Onyx continued. "I cannot leave you. Believe me, if I could have left I would have done it seven years ago. Now, even if I could, I wouldn't leave you. I care too much to leave you. I need you now, and you need me. Ruby, do not be angry about this. I gave Blake information about myself so that she could comfort Weiss and reassure her about us. Weiss would not listen to either of us."

"You lied," Ruby hissed. "I thought you couldn't leave me at all."

"That was an assumption and never a finality," Onyx countered. "Ruby, please, the last time we fought Weiss discovered our secret." Ruby hesitated, and she sighed. "Ruby, you and I can fight but later. This is not the big deal you are making it out to be."

"Get me something," Ruby said suddenly. "Prove to me you can exist in two places at the same time, and that the majority of you is stuck here." Ruby's face was filled with fury. Onyx recognized this, and waited for a brief moment. "Go and get me an image of the leader from SCLT, doing whatever it is that she's doing," Ruby said angrily.

"SCLT?" Onyx asked.

"You've never had a reason to investigate them," Ruby said. "Do this now, and I'll believe you." Onyx sighed, and laid down. Ruby watched on as Onyx tried to live up to her promise.

For seven years, Ruby went untrusting of Onyx. Hearing that it could have this ability after the past seven years of distrust, well it wasn't too surprising that Onyx may have been lying to her. But after the progress she had made with Onyx, all Ruby wanted was to believe it. All she wanted was to believe what it was saying.

After a few more moments, an image came in. It was the leader of SCLT, a women by the name of Selina Celeste, in a Beacon dorm. She was balancing her weapon on top of her hand, and focusing very intently on her task.

"Do you believe me?" Onyx asked. It rose to it's feet, and dusted off it's arms. "Do I own your trust now?" Ruby stared over the image carefully, and then focused in on Onyx.

"Yes," Ruby replied. "I think you do."

**End: Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	17. The Job I

Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 17: The Job I

******I'M BACK! Really happy to be back in action, and we'll see how long this lasts. I will say this, my pace is going to be fluctuating from here on out. With the lingering uncertainty of my health and my other side things {which will be included in the self-promitonal A/N at the end}, that'll slow down my pace from what I was doing to maybe one update a week per story. But hey, I am writing again. I'm also sorry for not including that you should NOT review that update, as I always delete those. I had plans for something y'all may wanna review the next chapter for all 4 of my fics, but oh well. Thank you to everyone for getting me to 90 followers and 70 favorites while I was away! I love every single one of you!**

Ruby's eyes opened up, and she rose calmly to her feet. It had been a few days since they had received the job and Ruby had learned of Onyx's potential. In that time, RWBY and JNPR grew closer as times. They began to trust each other a bit more, they even did a few training drills with each other. Yang thought it was healthy for Ruby to gain more friends, but she always remained alert.

Ruby's walks with Onyx remained nightly, thus allowing it to be calm. After the first day, Ruby began to use Onyx's ability to travel to other people's minds to her advantage. It was mostly to ensure that no one was on to her, and it appeared that there was only one potential concern there, and that was Ren. But he pushed nothing, thus meaning that Ruby was safe. The only thing that Ruby hadn't yet done to address Onyx, inform her team about it's abilities.

She got to her feet, and calmly stretched out.

"Morning," Yang said. "Sleep well?"

"Yup," Ruby said. "Onyx let me sleep dreamlessly for tonight, didn't even wake me up for a walk."

"Isn't that a bad thing?" Weiss asked. She looked ready to move if she had to, and Ruby winced slightly in pain. Weiss and her had begun to trust each other slightly more. But every time Onyx was mentioned, Weiss became guarded. Weiss still didn't believe that Ruby had any kind of a hold on Onyx. Learning about what Onyx could do certainly wouldn't help her, but eventually it had to happen.

"Onyx can and is willing to go one night away from food," Ruby explained. "This won't make it aggressive, I promise."

_As do I, _Onyx added in.

"As does Onyx," Ruby contributed. Weiss' body relaxed slightly, but she still seemed ready to bolt. Ruby sighed, and started to fish out her uniform, gloves, and mask. It was rare for Ruby to wear her mask and gloves while sleeping anymore. They could grow uncomfortable and it was good to let her skin and fur breathe.

Ruby started to walk towards the bathroom, but the door opened up before she got the chance. Ruby's first instinct was to fight, but she immediately stopped her movement once she realized who it was.

"Ozpin?" Ruby asked.

"Ms. Rose," Ozpin greeted. "Ms. Schnee, Ms. Belladonna, and Ms. Xiao Long."

"What's up Professor?" Yang asked from her bed. She was already dressed in her uniform, as was everyone else. Ruby usually got up last when Onyx let her sleep.

"I see that you have dressed in the proper attire for today already," Ozpin observed. "As have most of you, except for Ms. Rose." He paused for a moment, and then cleared his throat. "Do you want to put on your mask, in case anyone else walks in?"

"Doors locked and only we have a key," Ruby said, gesturing to herself, her team, and Ozpin. "You told me all of the staff has been informed, so why should I be worried?"

"Other students breaking in for a prank," Ozpin offered.

"Because someone would try and prank the girl who, what was it again? Oh, disemboweled and beheaded all of team CRDL," Blake offered.

"That is one rumor," Ozpin said. "And I see your point Ms. Belladonna. I see your logic now, it makes sense. Well, Ms. Rose I suggest you put away your uniform and that you three change into your normal attire." Ozpin dropped down a scroll and the girls watched as a holographic building appeared on it.

"The job?" Weiss asked.

"Yes," Ozpin replied calmly. "This building's location is on your scrolls. You will walk into it, and you should notice a man in it. This man shall be dressed in a long, silver and black robe. He goes by, the Phantom. He himself may be of more use to us alive and well, but he is supposed to be harboring someone. Get them, get the information, and leave. There are no other parameters." Ruby's other eye flickered a few times, and then her mouth curved into a smile.

"That we can do," Ruby said, her voice dipping a slight amount. Weiss grew stiff, and Ozpin noticed it.

"Are you alright Ms. Schnee?" Ozpin asked.

"It's just a little unsettling," Weiss said. "Actually, it's very unsettling to think of a girl speaking that low and the reason why isn't much better." Ozpin nodded and started to leave.

"The bullhead will be outside and ready to go," Ozpin said. "Change, get outside, and take care of it."

"Wait!" Weiss cried out. "Is there anything else we should know about the Phantom?"

"Only that every one of the men who works for him wears that silver and black cloak," Ozpin said firmly. "Along with silver and black masks. The length of the cloak determines superiority, and he prefers for there to be no confusion as to who is in charge." Ruby nodded, and dropped off her uniform.

"We'll be ready to go ASAP," Ruby said firmly. "Right guys?" The rest of her team nodded, and Ruby fished out her normal attire. Ozpin left the room, and they all set out to get dressed.

_20 Minutes Later_

RWBY climbed into the airship and chatted amongst themselves. While they were changing, everyone reviewed over the building and any information that was held on the Phantom. Unfortunately, this guy was called the Phantom. No one knew what kind of operations he was involved in, what kind of weapon he used, his name, hell, if this guy ever littered it was not mentioned anywhere. He was invisible, that was his job. So, no one had any ideas. The only ideas that they had was to find him and question him, or rather question the person he was harboring.

Ruby took a seat in the bullhead next to Yang, and rested her head on Yang's shoulder.

"Do you think this is why Onyx didn't need to be fed today?" Yang asked.

_Nope, _Onyx fired back. _In order for that to happen, Ozpin had to receive the lead before this morning. I was asleep with you._

"No," Ruby echoed. "Ozpin got the lead this morning, while we slept." Yang nodded and started to stroke Ruby's hair.

"Do you think he'll talk to us?" Yang asked. "Any of us?"

"Yes," Ruby said. "I really do." Yang just sighed, and leaned back in her chair.

"Mind if we join in?" Someone asked. Ruby looked up, and saw her other two teammates standing there.

"You don't have to ask, y'know," Ruby said. "Just throwing that out there." Weiss and Blake smiled and took a seat next to them. The four sat in silence for a few moments, but then Weiss finally cleared her throat.

"Will Onyx appear in this mission?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah," Ruby said. "Onyx will. If it's needed. If we have to fight, or if he won't talk, or anything of that sort, it'll show up."

"Can't you try to reign it in?" Weiss asked. "Keep it hidden for one day?"

"I know you don't want to see it Weiss," Ruby said. "But I don't really have a choice. If I can do this now, I won't have to go one a walk tonight. I'm sorry Weiss, but I have to." Weiss nodded blankly, seemingly having more to say but unwilling to say it. Ruby just shrugged it off and moved in closer to Yang.

The bullhead stopped over a point, and parked in mid-air.

"Alright RWBY," the pilot said through the speakers. "We are directly over the landing point. I trust that all of you understand how a rope works? If not, then here's a brief tutorial. Go down." RWBY nodded and walked to the dropping points. They strapped themselves to the rope, and dropped down from their starting point.

_Phantom Zone_

A man sat and stared over his bar. There was two levels and it was all in a gray and silver color. The top floor was strictly reserved for business partners, while the bottom floor was the main front of business. His entire face was shielded by a mask that alternated shades of black and silver. He wore a black tuxedo with a silver shirt and silver accents. His head was covered by a black and silver top hat, and a staff rested in his hands. The most noticeable thing about him, however, was the long silver and black cloak he wore.

"Sir," someone said. The man looked over, and he saw a similarly dressed man staring at him. "Four girls have landed outside. Do we terminate?"

"No," the man replied, a very strong tone coming out of his mouth. "Let them in. When they get in, send two men down to lead them upstairs."

"Yes sir," the guard replied. The man rose from his current seat, and sat down on one side of his couch.

After a few minutes, he saw his guards leading four girls towards him. He took brief note of their faces, and then smiled underneath his mask at the other mask that he had seen.

"Team RWBY," he said, his tone sounding stern and pleasant at the same time. "Please have a seat."

"How do you know who we are?" The one in black said.

"Your reputation proceeds you," the man said. "Blake Belladonna, Faunus who left the White Fang and fought against them." He turned his attention to the other three, and looked them all over. "Yang Xiao Long, strong brawler who picks fights and wins them. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company who left against her father's opinion and joined Beacon Academy. Ruby Rose, underage girl who made it into Beacon and received the nickname the Half-Faced Terror. You four are quite famous."

"Are we?" Weiss asked.

"Have a seat," the man offered. "It's very rare that people get the chance to speak with a Phantom."

Team RWBY all took their seats across the couch from the Phantom, and sat awkwardly. The Phantom finally let out a laugh, and leaned forward.

"You four really are first years," the Phantom said. "Anyone with experience would have known how to address me."

"We just weren't expecting you to agree to meet with us," Ruby said. "But I have to ask you, Mercury, Emerald, Torchwick, and Cinder."

"The names sound familiar," the Phantom said half-heartedly. "Perhaps I've seen them on the news. Any reason I should be taking interest?"

"Because we know you have one of their informants here," Ruby pushed. "We know they're here, and we want to speak with him. Or, we can speak to you and you can learn first hand why I'm called the Half-Faced Terror." Ruby's voice began fluctuating between deep and high, and the Phantom leaned forward.

"Is that what you want?" The Phantom asked. "To sell out those that seek my knowledge and allow representatives of Beacon find out this information instead?" RWBY all nodded, not knowing what else to do, and the Phantom rose to his feet. "There is a door just behind the bar up here. Tell the barkeep, fantôme ligne, and you will be let through. The man will be on the third door on the left. Open it, there will not be any resistance. The room is soundproof, do what you will."

"You're just going to sell him out?" Yang blurted.

"Of course," the Phantom said. "Beacon is far more profitable then anything else they are willing to offer. Beacon is an easy access into records, and Ozpin knows my price." The Phantom rose to his feet, and walked to the railing. He looked out to his club, and smiled. "Go!" RWBY finally walked towards the bar, and left the Phantom staring out at his club.

The four girls walked up to the bar, and looked at the bartender. Behind the bar was a man with a slightly longer cloak then most of the other people there.

"Fantôme ligne," Ruby said with a broken accent.

"You should work on your accent, girl," the man said. "It'll help if the others don't see you with him."

"Fantôme ligne," Weiss said, her accent sounding flawless.

"Or you could let the white one speak for you," the man added in. "Whatever works for you." He lifted up the board that separated the barkeep from the bartenders, and allowed the four girls to pass. He shuffled around a few display bottles of alcohol, and then pushed on one of the boards. The wall moved easily, revealing a long hallway.

"Thank you," Weiss said, not allowing herself to forget her manners.

"Don't thank me," the man said. "I just have to learn the stupid order of these bottles." RWBY entered the hallway, and walked down. They reached the third door, and took in a deep breath. Ruby tried the door, and found it open.

The four girls walked inside, and immediately noticed a man sitting down on the bed. He saw RWBY, and froze for a brief moment. Immediately after, he dove for a sword that rested on a table. Weiss raised up a glyph blocking his path, and Blake and Yang grabbed onto him before he could move.

"NO!" The man yelled out. "LET ME GO!"

"How about we don't do that?" Yang offered. "Where do you want him, Rubes?"

"Just set him on the bed," Ruby said. She was amazed that everything had gone over as smoothly as they had, but she knew that that couldn't last forever. More importantly, Onyx knew.

_Let me speak for us, _Onyx said deviously. _I can get him to talk._

_Only if I have to, _Ruby shot back mentally.

"We're going to ask you a few questions, and if you don't answer them properly we'll ask them again," Ruby began. "Except we may not be as nice this next time. Understand?" The man just grunted, and Ruby nodded.

"Right then," she started. "Cinder, Torchwick, Mercury, Emerald. Do any of these names sound familiar to you?"

"Not at all," the man replied. "I have never heard of them before." He proceeded to let out a wide smile, and he stared directly at Ruby.

"Fine then," Ruby said. "Weiss, close the windows. Then leave the room. Blake, Yang, also leave the room, one of you take his sword with you." Weiss complied, and then Blake and Yang released their grips on him and grabbed his sword. Ruby watched as the three of them left the room, and then she turned her attention back to the man.

"I'm not going to be asking you anymore questions," Ruby began. The man seemed to relax for a moment, and he rose to his feet. Ruby gave him a hard shove back onto the bed. "I didn't say they would stop," Ruby said flatly.

"The hell are you talking about girl?" The man asked.

_Showtime, _Ruby said. She could feel Onyx's presence grow stronger, and soon her own presence fall into a sleep.

"I'll be asking them," Onyx said, it's voice dropping down to it's normal bass.

"What?" The man asked, his voice changing to confusion.

"Answering the girls questions would have been very easy to do," Onyx began. "Painless, quick, but instead you get to deal with the beast."

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"You're going to try and ask me questions?" Onyx asked, amusement laying thick in it's voice. "Now, let's start with this again. Cinder, Torchwick, Mercury, Emerald. Do any of these names sound familiar to you?" The man shook his head, the same smug look setting on his face. Onyx immediately grabbed his hand, and then crushed all of the bones in his hand. The man instantly screamed in pain, and Onyx dragged him by his shattered hand to face him.

"Let's try this again," Onyx said harshly. "Cinder, Torchwick, Mercury, Emerald. Do you know these names?"

"Yes," the man whined.

"Good. We're making progress." Onyx loosed his grip slightly, but still kept it tight. "Now, where is there current location?"

"I don't know," the man said. Onyx lowered his grip to the man's arm, and the man instantly raised up his hand. "No, I really don't know! Please. I'm just the middle man. I always meet them in a generic location, it changes up every time I see them." Onyx looked over him, and then nodded.

"What are they involved in?" Onyx asked.

"The White Fang and the Uprising," the man said. "There may be other things, but I don't know them."

"What is the scale of their operation?" Onyx asked.

"Huge," the man said. "I only address two things, but the leader is Cinder. She really has her pockets running deep."

"Last, and most important, question," Onyx said coldly. "If we were to send you back, would Cinder trust you again?"

"Probably not," the man said. "Why?" Without another word, Onyx brought it's hands up to the man's head, and crushed his skull. Onyx instantly threw aside his body, and rose to it's feet. It turned itself away, and switched back to Ruby.

Onyx didn't leave Ruby many memories from the incident, but she knew enough to not turn around. Ruby calmly walked out the door, and saw her teammates waiting her.

"What happened?" Yang asked. "What happened to your gloves?" Ruby looked down, and saw that they were covered in blood.

"He didn't know much," Ruby said blankly. "Cinder was going to kill him for letting us know."

"How do you know that?" Weiss asked angrily.

"Onyx did," Ruby replied. "It asked if Cinder would trust him again, and he said no. Onyx fed itself." Ruby started to walk away from the room, and her teammates followed behind.

For once, everyone believed Onyx.

**End: The Job I, eventually there will be more Job chapters but not all in sync. ************So self promotion. I have my YouTube channel still, /codynight22, which I am currently doing a lot for editing wise, including Cody Talks Fanfiction for those of you interested. I am also still going to be doing my weekly streams on twitch {except I didn't do it last week on accident}, also codynight22. Twitter, gotta love twitter, Codyknight22. And I have a group I'm doing videos with on YouTube, /XPHoarders. Anyways, these are all of my excuses apart from medical stuff. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


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